Predicteform.com’s Upset Watch: Derby Future
Image:
Description:
Ocean Knight (above rallying to win the Sam F. Davis Stakes) is a solid value play for the third Kentucky Derby Future Wager. (SV Photography)
Every year crowds flock to Las Vegas before the NFL season starts and wager on a teams to win the Super Bowl. Known as the Super Bowl future book, it gives football fans a rooting interest all year with fixed odds on their team.
The New England Patriots are 6-to-1 odds to repeat while the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars are 200-to-1 to bring home the Lombardi Trophy.
Following the futures model, Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby, has made a Derby future book wagering pool this weekend. This means you can bet on who you think will win the Derby and have a rooting interest as that horse makes his way through Derby prep races and into the starting gate for the first jewel of the Triple Crown.
Adding to that excitement are the longshot odds that you get with almost every betting interest as after all, you are trying to pick a Derby winner nine weeks before the race.
There are 24 betting interests in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager this weekend – 23 individual horses and one interest called the field (which is every other potential runner). It goes without saying that the “field” gives you the best shot at picking the Derby winner, but the odds are barely 2-to-1, which is a deterrent.
Here are two horses offered in Kentucky Derby Future Pool #3 this weekend whose odds will be healthy.
#13 Keen Ice [current odds, 41-to-1]: An improving runner who looks to have more left in the tank and will enjoy running longer distances. His off-the-pace running style will suit the Churchill Downs main track, especially if a number of horses try to go for the lead.
KEEN ICE
Photo by Eclipse Sportswire
#17 Ocean Knight [current odds, 31-to-1]: With only two races lifetime, it’s crazy to imagine he can mature quickly enough to win the Kentucky Derby. However, he showed grit in both of his lifetime starts, stalking the pace and closing at the end of the race. This style of running will work in the Derby if there is not a fast and contested pace to start the race.