Daily Derby

Daily Derby is all about backing the right horse in order to win big. It gives you chances to win on each ticket that you purchase. In case you are wondering when the race for the grand prize is, it is on daily. In case the grand prize is not won in a particular draw, it is rolled over and just gets bigger in the next draw.

Daily Derby is one of the many games offered by the California Lottery and falls under the jurisdiction of California state laws.

Find out the most common California Hot Spot numbers

How to Play Daily Derby

The first step is to get your ticket. To do this, you have to find a Daily Derby retailer close to you and this could be close to your home, your favorite coffee shop, or your workplace. There are over 22,000 authorized California Lottery retail locations and this means finding a place to play is never much of a hassle.

Picking Your Horses and Race Times

When you identify your retailer, the next task is to pick your favorite horses. This entails picking 3 horses, 1 to finish first, the next one to finish second, and the last one to finish third. After that, you should pick your Race Time. This refers to the time taken by your first horse to finish the race. It is purely speculative.

Through the Quick Pick system, you also have an opportunity to play randomly generated horses and Race Times. The play slip can accommodate up to 3 plays where you enter your lucky horses. You can also play as many play slips as you want based on your budget and risk appetite.

By design, the Race Time ranges between 1:40:00 and 1:49:99. What you are required to do when selecting the Race Time is to simply pick the last three numbers. For instance, if you want to choose 1:42:31 Race Time, on your play slip, you will only mark the last three digits which are 2:31.

If you want to participate in advanced plays which means you are entering for draws that are to happen in the future, you can do that comfortably through the advanced play feature. You can play your horse as well as Race Time choices for 1-7 or 14 draws in advance. This is all done on a single play slip by marking the box written advance play.

When marking your numbers, it’s important to note that only blue or black ink is acceptable. In the event you make a mistake, you should not erase it, but simply mark the void box and your selection will be ignored.

Buying Your Ticket

Each Daily Derby play entry costs $2. When you give the marked play slip to the store clerk, you should also hand over the money so that they can print a ticket. When you carefully look at your ticket, you will realize that it displays your horses, your chosen Race Time, the draw date, as well as the dollar amount you paid. It is advisable that you always check the accuracy of your ticket numbers before leaving the retailer’s premises. Ensure you sign your ticket at the back to authenticate it.

Apart from buying tickets at the retailer, there are various other ways you can get your Daily Derby ticket. This includes Scratchers Vending Machines, Self-Service Ticket Machines, and Game Points, or you can even play at the pump as you fill up your gas.

The Daily Derby draws are conducted on a stand alone computer known as an Automated Draw Machine which is purposely used for drawing winning numbers. Being a stand alone computer, the automated draw machine is not in any way connected to any other computer system and its hard drive is inaccessible unless the numbered security seal is broken.

Within the computer, the programs generating the random numbers are burned in or permanently implanted in such a way that they cannot be altered. This makes it impossible to tamper with the draw machine, thus making every draw under the California Lottery credible and fair.

The California Lottery has a total of 3 separate automated draw machines, two of which are used for daily draws and the other one used for off-site backup just in case of an emergency. Even before the draw, the California Lottery has a randomization method it uses to determine the machine to be used for a drawing exercise.

After the drawing, it is your responsibility to check if your ticket has won a prize. You can do so right from the official California Lottery website or you can take your ticket for scanning at a local lottery retailer. The draws are held daily and entry closes at 6.30 p.m.

There are at least two chances to win with each ticket you purchase. As a matter of fact, you can win daily depending on how the odds favor you. You can win with horses or with Race Time.

To win the grand prize, you should strike the Trifecta and Race Time. The odds of winning this are 1:1,320,000. To win in the Trifecta category, you have to match the first, second, and third place horses with odds of 1: 1,321.

Wining exacta requires that you match the first and second place with odds of 1:147.

If you match the first place, you also win under the Win category at odds of 1:13.2. The Race Time category requires you to match the Race Time only at odds of 1:1,001.