The dream of placing a free Kentucky Derby bet became a reality for David Hoyt, as the winner of the Kentucky Derby Dream Bet.

David Hoyt, 59, lives and works as an accountant in Haverhill, Massachusetts, about 35 miles north of Boston. He describes himself as a “casual handicapper” but a “big fan” of horse racing.

Last spring, this “big fan” earned the trip of a lifetime after winning TwinSpires.com’s $25,000 Kentucky Derby Dream Bet, which offered a grand prize of a 2016 Kentucky Derby weekend package for two and a $25,000 win bet on the Derby itself.

“It’s something that I do anyways for the Derby preps, so you might as well enter it,” Hoyt said. “Plus the prize was pretty good.”

The Kentucky Derby Dream Bet was divided into two stages – the Qualifying Round and Final Round. All players had to do was cash at least one $15 win bet on a single horse in any of nine contest races.

For Hoyt, it all came down to the final race in the Final Round – the Arkansas Derby – and he ended up picking winner Creator.

“I sort of went crazy when that horse won for me,” he admitted. “The last prep race I knew I was either close to winning or going to win it.”

Hoyt had to wait until Monday morning before finding out that he had, indeed, won the 2016 Kentucky Derby Dream Bet.

“I got very excited. I told my boss I need a few days off,” he laughed. “I told a lot of people right then, including my wife. I told her to get ready to pack her bags.”

The Hoyts were off to the 2016 Kentucky Derby with a $25,000 win bet waiting in the big race.

“I bet on Exaggerator in the Derby,” Hoyt said. “He’s a come-from-behind horse and there were a lot of come-from-behind horses in last year’s Derby and I thought he would be able to get the jump on them all.”

Exaggerator put in a strong rally in the stretch but just fell short of Nyquist on the wire.
Despite not cashing the big bet, Hoyt described the whole experience as “terrific, tremendous.”

“It was a great time we had, me and my wife,” he said. “Everything was paid for, the admission, the food, the drink, the programs, the hotel.

“And of course the $25,000 bet did not hurt either.”

Like David, you also have a chance to win a Kentucky Derby free bet! The Kentucky Derby Dream Bet contest is back and will provide the next chance to place a Win wager on your favorite horse in the Kentucky Derby.

Read about previous Dream Bet winers and which horses they placed their free win bets on.

For the latest promotions, offers, and free bets for the Kentucky Derby — visit TwinSpires.com/Promotions. We have even more free picks, bonuses, and ways to win every week of the year. There are also great free tools available for informed betting.