McCraken, Gunnevera Top Kentucky Derby Future Wager

Two veterans of this year's Road to the Kentucky Derby, Whitham Thoroughbreds' unbeaten McCraken and Peacock Racing Stables' Gunnevera, are the morning line co-favorites for the fourth and final pool of Churchill Downs' 2017 Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which launches its three-day run March 31.

The Ian Wilkes-trained Sam F. Davis (G3) winner McCraken and Xpressbet.com Fountain of Youth (G2) winner Gunnevera, trained by Antonio Sano, are listed at odds of 6-1 in Churchill Downs' handicapper Mike Battaglia's morning line for Pool 4.

There's a four-way tie for third choice at 10-1 between KDFW newcomer J Boys Echo, unbeaten Southwest Stakes (G3) winner One Liner, Tampa Bay Derby (G2) winner Tapwrit, and the always-popular mutuel field. The latter includes all 3-year-old Thoroughbreds other than the 23 individual horses listed on the Pool 4 betting roster, including notable horses such as American Anthem, Blueridge Traveler, Fast and Accurate, Hence, Local Hero, Lookin At Lee, Patch, Petrov, Silver Dust, Sonneteer, and Wild Shot.

The co-favorites have been wagering interests in each of three previous KDFW pools. McCraken's closing odds in the previous pools were 12-1 (pool 1), 9-1 (pool 2), and 6-1 (pool 3), while Gunnevera's final odds were 22-1 (pool 1), 24-1 (pool 2), and 22-1 (pool 3). The "All Others" interest closed as the favorite in each of the previous 2017 pools.

The final KDFW pool features six horses that are listed for the first time as wagering interests in a 2017 pool and five individuals trained by Todd Pletcher, who won the 2010 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) with WinStar Farm's Super Saver  . 

Leading the Pool 5 newcomers are J Boys Echo, the Dale Romans-trained winner of Aqueduct Racetrack's Gotham Stakes (G3), and Godolphin's Thunder Snow (15-1), the Dubai-based winner of last week's $2 million UAE Derby Sponsored By The Saeed & Mohammed Al Naboodah Group (G2). The others are Gotham runner-up Cloud Computing (15-1); Risen Star Stakes (G2) winner Girvin (30-1), and Battle of Midway (50-1) and Reach the World (50-1), the 1-2 finishers in a recent Santa Anita Park allowance race. 

The Pletcher-trained quintet includes One Liner, Tapwrit, Battalion Runner (30-1), Malagacy (30-1), and Always Dreaming (50-1).

Betting in the final KDFW pool of 2017 is set to open at noon EDT Friday and will continue through April 2 at 6 p.m.

Total betting in the three 2017 KDFW pools, including both win and exacta pools, stands at $925,197.