If betting wasn’t allowed on horse racing, the Kentucky Derby, which this year saw California Chrome gallop to the finish line, would likely be a little-known event of interest just to a small group of horse racing enthusiasts. But like the Tour de France, the World Cup, and the Masters Tournament, even those with little or no deep knowledge of horse racing seem drawn to the excitement of its premier event—the mint juleps, the hats… and of course, the betting.

As most of you probably already know, a big part of betting is considering the odds placed on a particular horse, so that a bet on the “favorite” to win the race would pay out significantly less than would a bet for the underdog. It stands to reason, then, that those horses with the best odds of winning would tend to win more often, and those with the worst odds would win less frequently.

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