The Derby Day

The Derby Day is a gambling game for any reasonable number of players (10 was chosen as an arbitrary maximum). The game is played on a board with five lanes for horses, a betting area, and an odds area. Each horse has several possible starting positions (determined by the bookmaker) and each has a different number of spaces in its lane. After odds are set for a race two dice are thrown and the horse corresponding to the higher die is moved one space, or two if doubles are rolled. The horses with higher numbers have more spaces to cover. At any given time one player is the bookmaker. Before each race they set the odds, which can be 4-1 for all horses or 2-1, 3-1, 4-1, 5-1, and 6-1 assigned as they wish. They also choose where the horses start - the normal start, the handicap start behind this, or even ahead of the normal start. The other players then bet and after the race is over bets are paid off.