Details on this year's pari-mutuel Derby futures
DiscreetCat
Moderator
from the Louisville Courier-Journal:
Churchill Downs' Kentucky Derby Future Wager returns for a 12th year with a couple of twists: the three wagering pools were shortened from four to three days each and none will be offered in April.
The dates are: Pool 1 Feb. 12-14; Pool 2 March 5-7; Pool 3 March 26-28, it was announced Thursday. Exacta wagering, instituted with last year's second pool, will be available for all three pools in addition to the standard win wager.
The lone Kentucky Oaks Future Wager will be March 5-7, which will not include exacta wagering. Betting each day for the Derby and Oaks pools will be noon ET, with the Derby pools closing at 6 p.m. ET Sunday and the Oaks 30 minutes after the Pool 2 Derby Future betting ends.
The future wagers provide a pari-mutuel means by which bettors try to lock in bigger odds on a horse than they might get on race day for the April 30 Oaks or May 1 Derby. The wager encompasses 23 individual horses and a 24th betting interest that includes all of 3-year-olds of either sex for the Derby and all other 3-year-olds for the Oaks.
The minimum wager is $2 and, as with any future wagering, there is no refund if a horse does not make the race. If Churchill determines that one of the horses offered in pool has suffered an illness, injury or other circumstance that will prevent it from competing in either race, wagering on that horse will be suspended.
The three-day wagering window in part reflects the fact that little of the betting was conducted on Thursday. The pools also are positioned to encourage more forward-thinking handicapping rather than reacting to major stakes races.
The first pool comes the week before such preps as Gulfstream's Fountain of Youth and the Fair Grounds' Risen Star instead of during those races. The second pool is the week before Santa Anita's San Felipe, the Tampa Bay Derby and Oaklawn's Rebel.
The final pool does coincide with the Louisiana Derby at Churchill-owned Fair Grounds, as well as Turfway's Lane's End and Dubai's UAE Derby. But it falls before the Santa Anita Derby, Wood Memorial, Arkansas Derby and Blue Grass that send so many horses to the Derby.
Churchill spokesman John Asher said the schedule also was calendar-driven, with the Derby being so early this year as the fact that the Louisiana Derby was moved back to five weeks before the Kentucky Derby.
An earlier Pool 3 also should provide some higher odds for horses.
"We're trying to make it as much a future wager as possible," Asher said. "Even if you wait a week or two, the value of that last pool would drop off a little bit. With this weekend, and significant preps over the next three weeks, you still have a chance to get a really major contender, a serious hope for the Derby, at a very good price. We're looking to pack as much value into this as we can."
With Mine That Bird's victory, last year's mutuel field paid off $5.80 in Pool 1, $11.80 in Pool 2 and $36.80 in Pool 3. (He paid $103.20 race day.) The Pool 2 exacta with the field and Pioneerof the Nile paid $256.80, Pool 3 was $554.60 and Derby Day $2,074.80.
Derby Future wagering last year totaled $1,236,299, rebounding about $180,000 after hitting its second-lowest total in 2008. The record was the $1,665,990 total bet in 2005
Churchill Downs' Kentucky Derby Future Wager returns for a 12th year with a couple of twists: the three wagering pools were shortened from four to three days each and none will be offered in April.
The dates are: Pool 1 Feb. 12-14; Pool 2 March 5-7; Pool 3 March 26-28, it was announced Thursday. Exacta wagering, instituted with last year's second pool, will be available for all three pools in addition to the standard win wager.
The lone Kentucky Oaks Future Wager will be March 5-7, which will not include exacta wagering. Betting each day for the Derby and Oaks pools will be noon ET, with the Derby pools closing at 6 p.m. ET Sunday and the Oaks 30 minutes after the Pool 2 Derby Future betting ends.
The future wagers provide a pari-mutuel means by which bettors try to lock in bigger odds on a horse than they might get on race day for the April 30 Oaks or May 1 Derby. The wager encompasses 23 individual horses and a 24th betting interest that includes all of 3-year-olds of either sex for the Derby and all other 3-year-olds for the Oaks.
The minimum wager is $2 and, as with any future wagering, there is no refund if a horse does not make the race. If Churchill determines that one of the horses offered in pool has suffered an illness, injury or other circumstance that will prevent it from competing in either race, wagering on that horse will be suspended.
The three-day wagering window in part reflects the fact that little of the betting was conducted on Thursday. The pools also are positioned to encourage more forward-thinking handicapping rather than reacting to major stakes races.
The first pool comes the week before such preps as Gulfstream's Fountain of Youth and the Fair Grounds' Risen Star instead of during those races. The second pool is the week before Santa Anita's San Felipe, the Tampa Bay Derby and Oaklawn's Rebel.
The final pool does coincide with the Louisiana Derby at Churchill-owned Fair Grounds, as well as Turfway's Lane's End and Dubai's UAE Derby. But it falls before the Santa Anita Derby, Wood Memorial, Arkansas Derby and Blue Grass that send so many horses to the Derby.
Churchill spokesman John Asher said the schedule also was calendar-driven, with the Derby being so early this year as the fact that the Louisiana Derby was moved back to five weeks before the Kentucky Derby.
An earlier Pool 3 also should provide some higher odds for horses.
"We're trying to make it as much a future wager as possible," Asher said. "Even if you wait a week or two, the value of that last pool would drop off a little bit. With this weekend, and significant preps over the next three weeks, you still have a chance to get a really major contender, a serious hope for the Derby, at a very good price. We're looking to pack as much value into this as we can."
With Mine That Bird's victory, last year's mutuel field paid off $5.80 in Pool 1, $11.80 in Pool 2 and $36.80 in Pool 3. (He paid $103.20 race day.) The Pool 2 exacta with the field and Pioneerof the Nile paid $256.80, Pool 3 was $554.60 and Derby Day $2,074.80.
Derby Future wagering last year totaled $1,236,299, rebounding about $180,000 after hitting its second-lowest total in 2008. The record was the $1,665,990 total bet in 2005