The massive favorite in Saturday's Preakness Stakes is American Pharoah, who won the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago. The nature of the horse's status as such a big favorite will actually allow bettors an interesting opportunity on a free option.
Even if you think he's going to win, make a place bet instead. You'll make more money that way—even if he loses.
This is the advice from Bill Hessert, the founder of Derby Games, a social platform for the public to legally bet on horse racing, through their desktop or mobile apps.
As CNBC has written about previously, the Preakness will cause a lot of "dumb money" to be wagered—which means people who aren't professionals and don't know what they are doing.