“The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” is running for the 107th time. But before you bet on the Indianapolis 500 event, you’ll want to read this closely. We’ve hand-picked the drivers most worth putting Indy 500 bets on, and we’re giving them to you for free in this article.
- What: Indianapolis 500 race
- When: May 28
- Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Indianapolis, Indiana)
We begin with the latest Indy 500 odds, however. The top betting sites for sports have earmarked the following drivers as the betting favorites to take first place:
| Driver |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Palou | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| Scott McLaughlin | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| Pato O'Ward | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| Josef Newgarden | +550 | +550 | +550 |
| Will Power | +800 | +800 | +800 |
| Marcus Erricsson | +800 | +800 | +800 |
| Scott Dixon | +1000 | +1000 | +1000 |
2023 Indy 500 Preview
Any preview of the Indy 500 should start with qualifying, which already took place a few days ago on the same Indianapolis Motor Speedway track. The starting lineup was set from this two-day qualifier and we now know how the 11 rows will be organized.
Palou won the pole position with flying colors. He set the fastest pole position speed in race history at 234.217 mph, hence why he’s the field’s betting favorite. Rounding out the first two will be Rinus VeeKay and Felix Rosenqvist.
Two other betting frontrunners, O'Ward and Dixon, find themselves in row two. O’Ward has three runner-up finishes this year, which puts him second in the season standings — six points behind series leader, Palou. Ironically, O’Ward was also second overall in Indy a year ago. Dixon, on the other hand, is the veteran that just doesn’t fade. He won the 2008 event and was having a secular weekend a year ago before a drive-thru penalty stopped him in his tracks.
Everyone knows what’s at stake in this event — a shot at holy glory. The Indy 500 is arguably the most famous motor race in the world. It’s a 200-lap competition around the Brickyard. The race, while on an oval speedway, runs more like a road course. Each corner is different and preceded by straight ways that are 5/8 miles long, just enough time to prepare for the next curve.
Who To Bet To Win The 2023 Indy 500 Race
There are just slightly over 30 cars competing on Sunday. While you could argue many are bet-worthy, you do have to protect potential profits here. We’d argue to stick to either two or three bets on the Indy 500 winner — that’s it. Two drivers, in particular, should be atop your to-bet list:
Alex Palou
Dare we say Palou is a must-bet on Sunday? We think so. He’s been the sport’s best driver this season and that means something. Over the year, Palou has four top-five finishes and hasn’t finished lower than eighth once. It’s this consistency which makes him must-bet. The only other driver almost as consistent has been O’Ward, but he’s consistently second which is a cause of concern.
Anyways, back to Palou. One of his signature moments in this 2023 campaign was winning the Grand Prix of Indianapolis in the middle of May. It was a largely dominating performance as Palou led for 52 of 85 laps in the road course event. Throw in his record-setting performance at qualifying, and there’s simply too much to like about the Chip Ganassi Racing driver in this one. Take this race-winner bet in a heartbeat.
Rinus VeeKay
VeeKay doesn’t have the name value of Palou or several other betting favorites, but that just makes him an even sneakier-good bet here. At qualifying, VeeKay was right there with Palou’s record-setting pace as he finished 0.006 behind the pole winner. Starting up front will be a huge advantage to VerKay, who has an average starting position of 19 this season. Upsets are not uncommon in Indy and VerKay could be next in line to do so if he maintains the speed he had at qualifiers.
How To Watch 2023 Indy 500 Race
If there’s one IndyCar race to watch in 2023, it’s the Indy 500. Not only for its historic component, but it’s also a holiday weekend so you have some extra time before the usual “Sunday s series” kick in. This race always goes down on Memorial Day weekend, and this year is no different. NBC and Peacock is the place to watch the Indy 500 live.
The race is slotted to begin at 12:45 pm EST. If you have a TV subscription, then NBC has you covered. Cord-cutters can fall back on NBC’s Peacock streaming app. Additionally, Peacock will have extra pre-race coverage that won’t be seen on NBC for the real diehard fans.
How To Bet On 2023 Indy 500
The race-winner outcome is only one way to bet on the Indy 500. There are also a number of prop bets available on other outcomes. To get a full list of Indy 500 bets, hit one of the bookmakers listed underneath. While there’s an array of bookies out there, the five you see in the table are there are top-rated in our latest sportsbook review section.
Better yet, your Indy 500 bets could be completely free if you leverage a lucrative sign-up bonus right now. These types of deals are available from site to site, and pay hundreds to thousands of dollars in free play. That type of money could easily bankroll your Indy 500 betting and then some. In the table, we’ve listed the best bonuses available right now.
