Bolt d’Oro is the 5-1 morning line favorite in Pool 4 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager. (Photo credit: Santa Anita Park).
A tightly-grouped foursome headed by Ruis Racing LLC’s San Felipe (GII) winner Bolt d’Oro (#2, 5-1) sits atop the morning line odds for the 24 wagering interests set for this weekend’s fourth and final pool of Churchill Downs’ Kentucky Derby Future Wager (“KDFW”), which launches its three-day run Friday, April 7 and will conclude on Sunday, April 9.
The Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which is being offered for a 20th consecutive year, enables bettors to wager on possible Kentucky Derby contenders in advance of America’s greatest race at odds that could be more attractive than those available on the day of the race. The $2 million Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (GI) for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds will be run at Churchill Downs for the 144th consecutive year on Saturday, May 5.
For the latest Kentucky Derby future odds go to USRacing.
The $2 minimum Derby Future Wager features 24 wagering interests that include 23 individual horses and the Mutuel Field (#24), or “All Others”, which consists all 3-year-old Thoroughbreds that area not included among the individual stars in the pool. Winning payouts for KDFW Pool 4 will be determined by the odds that are in place when wagering concludes Sunday evening. Exacta wagering is offered in all KDFW pool as a $2 minimum, with part-wheels in $1 increments permitted in that minimum bet.
Wagering on Pool 2 is set to open at noon (all times Eastern) on Friday and will conclude on Sunday at 6 p.m. Betting is available at TwinSpires.com, the official betting partner of the Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup World Championships, and other online wagering platforms, along with racetracks and satellite wagering centers throughout North America. Real-time odds and exacta will-pays can be viewed throughout the three-day pool at www.KentuckyDerby.com, the official event web site, and via www.TwinSpires.com.
The Mick Ruis-trained Bolt d’Oro won Santa Anita’s San Felipe (GII) on March 10 via the disqualification of McKinzie. It was the first race of the 3-year-old season for the son of Medaglia d’Oro and his first outing since he ran third in the $2 million Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (GI) on Nov 4 at Del Mar, his only career setback. He will bring a lifetime record of 5-4-0-1 with earnings of $816,000 into his final Kentucky Derby tune-up in Saturday’s $1 million Santa Anita Derby (GI).
The anticipated advantage in Churchill Downs odds maker Mike Battaglia’s Pool 4 morning line odds is slight, with three individual stars bunched tightly behind favored Bolt d’Oro. That group includes trainer Todd Pletcher’s Florida Derby (GI) and Fountain of Youth (GII) winner Audible (#1, 6-1); unbeaten Justify (#12, 6-1), the Bob Baffert-trained rising star who is set to make his stakes debut in Saturday’s Santa Anita Derby (GI); and trainer Chad Brown’s reigning 2-year-old champion and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Good Magic (#8, 8-1), who will compete in Saturday’s $1 million Blue Grass Stakes (GII) at Keeneland.
Just behind that powerful foursome atop the Pool 4 betting interests is a trio of 10-1 risks that include Pletcher’s unbeaten Magnum Moon (#14, 10-1), winner of Oaklawn Park’s Rebel (GII) in his debut against stakes company; trainer Aidan O’Brien’s international star Mendelssohn (#15, 10-1), the romping winner of the $2 million UAE Derby (GII) at Dubai’s Meydan Racecourse and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (GI) at Del Mar; and the always-popular Mutuel Field (#24, 10-1). “All Others” was the betting favorite in the three previous KDFW pools of 2018.
Pool 4 features eight wagering interests that were not a part of Pool 3. That group includes Gotham (GIII) winner Enticed (#5, 20-1); Gronkowski (#9, 30-1), winner of the European Road to the Kentucky Derby’s Burradon Stakes at Britain’s Newcastle; Hofburg (#10, 30-1), the Florida Derby runner-up for trainer Bill Mott; Louisiana Derby (GII) runner-up Lone Sailor (#13, 50-1); Mississippi (#16, 50-1), the Mark Casse-trained third-place finisher in the Florida Derby; Tampa Bay Derby (GII) winner Quip (#20, 50-1); Sunland Derby (GIII) winner Runaway Ghost (#21, 50-1); and the Steve Asmussen-trained Title Ready (#23, 50-1), who finished fourth in the Rebel.
The complete roster of wagering interests in the year’s final Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool: Audible (#1, 6-1), Bolt d’Oro (#2, 5-1), Bravazo (#3, 50-1), Combatant (#4, 30-1), Enticed (#5, 20-1), Flameaway (#6, 30-1), Free Drop Billy (#7, 30-1), Good Magic (#8, 8-1), Gronkowski (#9, 30-1), Hofburg (#10, 30-1), Instilled Regard (#11, 50-1), Jusify (#12, 6-1), Lone Sailor (#13, 50-1), Magnum Moon (#14, 10-1), Mendelssohn (#15, 10-1), Mississippi (#16, 50-1), My Boy Jack (#17, 30-1), Noble Indy (#18, 20-1), Promises Fulfilled (#19, 30-1), Quip (#20, 50-1), Runaway Ghost (#21, 50-1), Solomini (#22, 20-1), Title Ready (#23, 50-1) and the Mutuel Field (#24, 10-1).
Two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Pletcher, who won last year’s running with Always Dreaming, leads all trainers with three KDFW Pool 3 contenders (Audible, Magnum Moon and Noble Indy). Trainers with a pair of wagering interests in their care include four-time Derby winner Baffert (Justify and Solomini), Asmussen (Combatant and Title Ready), Casse (Flameaway and Mississippi) and Dale Romans (Free Drop Billy and Promises Fulfilled).
No scratches or refunds are permitted in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager. Should Churchill Downs officials determine during the pool that a wagering interest will not compete in the May 5 race because of injury, illness or other circumstance, wagering on that interested will be suspended immediately.
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