Classic Empire, McCraken Individual Favorites in Pool 3

The mutuel field (#24), or "all others," looms as a solid betting favorite Pool 3 of Churchill Downs' Kentucky Derby Future Wager ("KDFW"), but the battle for the individual favorite is expected to be tight between reigning 2-year-old champion Classic Empire (#4, 8-1) and unbeaten rising stars McCraken (#15, 8-1), Mastery (#14, 10-1), along with Irish War Cry (#11, 12-1). 

Betting in the third of four 2017 KDFW pools is scheduled to open at noon (all times EST) Feb. 24 and continue until 6 p.m. Feb. 26. The wager will be available at racetracks and satellite wagering facilities throughout North America and online at TwinSpires.com and other online internet wagering platforms. The lone Kentucky Oaks Future Wager of 2017 also opens at noon on Friday and is set to close on Sunday at 6:30 p.m.          

The mutuel field, which includes all 3-year-old Thoroughbreds other than the 23 individual horses on the roster of 24 betting interests, was rated the 4-1 favorite for KDFW Pool 3 in the  odds set by Churchill Downs' Mike Battaglia. John C. Oxley's Classic Empire, the Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner who was the solid 5-1 individual choice in the wager's Jan. 27-29 second pool, and Whitham Thoroughbreds' McCraken were next as the co-second choices in the morning line. Since Pool 2, Classic Empire suffered his second career defeat in a third-place finish in the Feb. 4 Lambholm South Holy Bull Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream Park and McCraken extended his record to four victories in as many races with an impressive win in his 2017 debut in Tampa Bay Downs' Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3).

Cheyenne Stables' Mastery, winner of the Los Alamitos Futurity (G1) in his most recent start for four-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Bob Baffert, and Isabella de Tomaso's Irish War Cry, who defeated Classic Empire in the Holy Bull for Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Graham Motion, are expected to attract strong support. 

The 143rd running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) is scheduled for May 6.

The Kentucky Derby Future Wager provides  fans with the opportunity to wager on contenders for the Kentucky Derby at odds that may be more attractive than those available on Derby day. Payouts in the win and exacta wagering in Pool 3 were determined by the odds in place at Sunday's conclusion of wagering. 

The Future Wager offers $2 minimum win wagering on 24 betting interests that include 23 individual horses and the mutuel field, which includes all 3-year-old Thoroughbreds other than the individual wagering interests in a respective pool. Each pool also offers $2 exacta wagering on the 24 wagering interests, with the latter also available in $1 minimum increments in boxes and other multiple number configurations.  

The official rules of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager prohibit scratches or refunds. Should Churchill Downs determine that a wagering interest has encountered an injury, illness or other circumstance would prohibit that horse from competing in the 2017 Kentucky Derby, wagering on the individual will be immediately suspended.