Four McPeek Trainees Lead Second Derby Future Wager
Image:
Description:
Photo: Coady Photography
Smile Happy wins the 2021 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs
Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager offered by Churchill Downs opens Jan. 21, and, as with Pool 1 last fall, it goes without Bob Baffert trainees among the individual betting interests.
The pari-mutuel field of "All Other 3-Year-Olds" has been established as the 7-5 morning-line favorite.
The second of five pools for the KDFW will run for three days through Jan. 23 at 6 p.m. ET. Bettors can place win and exacta wagers at simulcast outlets throughout the country and via participating advance deposit wagering platforms.
In leaving Baffert trainees out of the individual betting interests, such as likely 2-year-old champion Corniche , Churchill stated in a release that it would not include horses under the care of trainers suspended from competing in the 2022 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). Corniche is favored with Las Vegas casinos offering future-book wagering, with some bettors banking on a rule change that would allow for Baffert's participation, legal action overturning the suspension, or the horse qualifying for the race by running for another trainer.
Currently Baffert trainees such as Corniche fall under the pari-mutuel field of "All Other 3-Year-Olds" in Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager.
Last year, as a private property owner, Churchill Downs Inc. suspended Baffert from participating at its tracks through the middle of 2023 after Medina Spirit tested positive for betamethasone after a first-place finish in the Kentucky Derby. Kentucky stewards have yet to hold a hearing or issue a ruling.
Lucky Seven Stable's Smile Happy , winner of the 2021 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs, is installed as the 8-1 individual Pool 2 favorite by morning-line oddsmaker Mike Battaglia. Trained by Kenny McPeek, Smile Happy is based at Gulfstream Park in South Florida and has been steadily working toward his 3-year-old debut, scheduled in the Feb. 19 Risen Star Stakes Presented by Lamarque Ford (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, McPeek informed BloodHorse last week.
Smile Happy is one of four McPeek-trained colts in Pool 2, with the others being Dash Attack (20-1), Rattle N Roll (30-1), and Tiz the Bomb (20-1).
In Pool 1, Smile Happy closed as the 8-1 individual favorite behind "All Other Colts and Geldings," which was the odds-on 3-5 betting choice. His odds dropped from 15-1 late in the wagering after Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale, the Houston furniture store owner who campaigned Smile Happy's sire Runhappy , bet $10,000 to win on him.
Total handle for the Nov. 25-28 KDFW pool was $326,448 ($263,008 in the win pool and $63,440 in exactas), up 30.9% from last year's $249,331.
There is no option for specifically betting 3-year-old fillies in Pool 2; in this pool they're included in the "All Other 3-Year-Olds" option. Here's the complete Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 2 field (with trainer and morning line odds). Some of these 3-year-olds are in action in the Jan. 22 Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds.
|
Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 2
|
||
| Number | Horse (Trainer) | Pool 2 Odds |
| 1 | Chasing Time (Steve Asmussen) | 20-1 |
| 2 | Classic Causeway (Brian Lynch) | 30-1 |
| 3 | Commandperformance (Todd Pletcher) | 50-1 |
| 4 | Courvoisier (Kelly Breen) | 30-1 |
| 5 | Dash Attack (Ken McPeek) | 20-1 |
| 6 | Emmanuel (Todd Pletcher) | 50-1 |
| 7 | Epicenter (Steve Asmussen) | 15-1 |
| 8 | Giant Game (Dale Romans) | 30-1 |
| 9 | High Oak (Bill Mott) | 50-1 |
| 10 | Jack Christopher (Chad Brown) | 10-1 |
| 11 | Major General (Todd Pletcher) | 50-1 |
| 12 | Make It Big (Saffie Joseph Jr.) | 50-1 |
| 13 | Mo Donegal (Todd Pletcher) | 12-1 |
| 14 | Pappacap (Mark Casse) | 20-1 |
| 15 | Rattle N Roll (Ken McPeek) | 30-1 |
| 16 | Simplification (Antonio Sano) | 30-1 |
| 17 | Slow Down Andy (Doug O’Neill) | 15-1 |
| 18 | Smile Happy (Ken McPeek) | 8-1 |
| 19 | Tiz the Bomb (Ken McPeek) | 20-1 |
| 20 | Trafalgar (Al Stall Jr.) | 50-1 |
| 21 | Varatti (Todd Pletcher) | 50-1 |
| 22 | White Abarrio (Saffie Joseph Jr.) | 50-1 |
| 23 | Zandon (Chad Brown) | 12-1 |
| 24 | "All Other 3-Year-Olds" | 7-5 |
The pari-mutuel field for the first pool of the New Year has closed as the bettors' choice every year since the wager was inaugurated in 1999, and the final odds were 5-2 in five of the last seven years.
There are nine new individual interests from Pool 1 in the KDFW. They are first-level allowance winner Chasing Time; Jerome winner Courvoisier; Smarty Jones winner Dash Attack; debut maiden winner Emmanuel; Saratoga Special Stakes Presented by Miller Lite (G2) winner High Oak; Remington Springboard Mile Stakes winner Make It Big; Mucho Macho Man Stakes winner Simplification; Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) winner Slow Down Andy; and Kentucky Jockey Club third White Abarrio.
The Kentucky Derby Future Wagers provide fans of Thoroughbred racing with opportunities to place bets on possible entrants in the Derby at odds that could be greater than those available on the day of the race. The 148th running of Kentucky Derby is May 7 at Churchill Downs.
There are no refunds in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager. Should Churchill Downs officials determine during the duration of this week's four-day pool that one of the wagering interests has experienced an injury, illness, or other circumstance that would prevent the horse from participating in the Kentucky Derby, betting on the individual horse will be suspended immediately.
The other Future Wager dates are set for Feb. 11-13 (Pool 3), March 11-13 (Pool 4), and March 31-April 2 (Pool 5). The lone Kentucky Oaks Future Wager will coincide with Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 4 March 11-13.
More information, Brisnet.com past performances, and real-time odds on the Kentucky Derby Future Wager will be available online before the pool opens Friday.