You won’t find Kentucky Derby or any horse racing wagers on prediction platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket.

Bill Carstanjen, CEO of Churchill Downs, told CNBC the race track owners don’t want it.

The tension raises an interesting question of when — and in what contexts — permission is needed for prediction marketplace platforms to offer contracts on a given event.

The biggest horse race in the country, the Kentucky Derby, takes place Saturday in Louisville. If you’re looking to produce a wager on Kalshi, Polymarket or another prediction platform around the event — you’re out of luck.

There are no Kentucky Derby event contracts offered on the major prediction platforms, which host contracts on everything from sports outcomes to geopolitical events to reality TV show moments, but not horse racing.

Bill Carstanjen, CEO of Churchill Downs, which owns the Kentucky Derby and the racetrack where it’s held, told CNBC it’s unlikely that horse racing will ever show up on prediction markets because the race track owners don’t want it.

“You need to actually go to us, those who own the race tracks, to cut a deal,” Carstanjen noted in an interview this week. “And from our perspective, that’s not something we’re interested in doing.”

Horse racing has long been something of its own little fiefdom. Betting on the races, America’s original form of sports betting dating back to the colonial era, enjoyed special status even before the Supreme Court in 2018 struck down a law that prevented states other than Nevada from offering sports betting.

By law, under the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978, offering wagers on horses requires explicit permission from the host race track, the horsemen’s group made up of owners and trainers and the state racing commission where the race is held.

That’s left the burgeoning prediction markets industry on the outs.

“Prediction markets are not something that that would be beneficial for horse racing, or the economic paradigm under which our industry works, which involves funding purses for the winners of the horse race,” Carstanjen remarked.

Kalshi declined to comment on the absence of horseracing on its platform. Polymarket didn’t respond to a request for comment. And representatives for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates event contracts, likewise didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The tension raises an interesting question of when — and in what context — permission is needed for prediction sector platforms to offer contracts on a given event.

U.S. states have argued companies like Kalshi and Polymarket need their permission (via a license) to offer wagers on sports. Prediction platforms have maintained they don’t need licenses because their platforms offer investing and trading activity, not gambling, and because they’re regulated by the CFTC.

The CFTC has filed multiple lawsuits against states seeking to prevent them from taking action against prediction platforms.

Kentucky, for its part, has taken a tough stance on predictions. Lawmakers in the state have proposed legislation that would ban any of its gambling licensees from offering predictions. It’s also proposed a 17.5% tax on prediction marketplace fees.

Meanwhile, there’s still old-fashioned gambling set for Saturday’s Derby. Churchill Downs mentioned it’s seeing increased betting during Derby Week leading up to the massive race.

Caesars, too, noted the amount of capital wagered on the Kentucky Derby is pacing ahead of expectations. This also touches on aspects of bull market.

— CNBC’s Jessica Golden contributed to this report.

Disclosure: Kalshi and CNBC have a commercial relationship which includes a minority investment.