Five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher lost a major contender for the 2013 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) when the impressive
Violence suffered a career-ending injury last weekend, but
Pletcher’s barn remains so well-stocked with Derby candidates that six
of his horses are listed among the 24 betting interests for the second
pool of Churchill Downs’ 2013 Kentucky
Derby Future Wager (“KDFW”).
Pletcher, who won the 2010 “Run for the Roses” with Super Saver, is joined atop the Pool 2 betting roster by three-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Bob Baffert, who will be represented by five 3-year-old
Thoroughbreds in the Derby Futures pool that opens its three-day run at noon (all times Eastern) on Friday, March 1.
But despite the massive star power of the Pletcher and Baffert teams, Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia has installed the Mutuel Field (#24), which includes all 3-year-olds other than the pool’s
23 individual horses, as the 3-1 morning line favorite for KDFW Pool 2.
Co-favored among individual horses at
10-1 are Baffert’s
Super Ninety Nine (#18), an 11 ½-length winner of the Southwest (GIII) at Oaklawn Park, and Pletcher’s unbeaten
Verrazano (#22),
who has won his two starts by a combined 24 lengths. Other individuals
who are expected to draw strong support included Baffert’s unbeaten
Robert B. Lewis (GII) winner
Flashback (#6, 12-1); Holy Bull (GIII) winner
Itsmyluckyday (#8, 12-1);
Orb
(#11, 12-1), who defeated favored Violence in last week’s Fountain
of Youth (GII) at Gulfstream Park; and the Pletcher-trained Withers
(GIII) winner
Revolutionary (#15, 12-1). Reigning 2-year-old champion
Shanghai Bobby (#17), San Vicente
(GII) winner
Shakin It Up (#16) and
Normandy Invasion (#10) are rated by Battaglia as
15-1 risks.
The Kentucky Derby
Future Wager offers racing fans an opportunity to bet on potential
contenders for the famed “Run for the Roses” well in advance of the race
at odds that could be significantly more attractive
than those available in betting on Kentucky Derby Day.
The
$2 million-guaranteed Kentucky Derby will be run for the 139
th consecutive year at Churchill Downs on Saturday, May 4.
Betting
in Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager will open Friday at noon
(all times Eastern) at racetracks and off-track betting
centers throughout North America and online at TwinSpires.com, the advance deposit wagering outlet for Churchill Downs Incorporated, and other internet wagering
platforms. Wagering will conclude at 6 p.m. on Sunday, March 3.
Along with Verrazano, the six Pletcher trainees in Pool 2 are Shanghai Bobby, Revolutionary,
Palace Malace (#14, 30-1),
Overanalyze (#12, 20-1) and
Delhomme (#2, 50-1). Super Ninety
Nine and Flashback are joined on the Baffert Derby Futures team by Shakin It Up,
Code West (#1, 20-1) and
Den’s Legacy (#3, 50-1).
KDFW Pool 2 includes six 3-year-olds that were not individual betting interests in Pool 1:
Ive Struck A Nerve (#9, 30-1), Orb, Palace Malice, Shakin It Up,
Titletown Five (#19, 30-1) and
Treasury
Bill (#20, 30-1).
Each Kentucky
Derby Future pool offers $2 minimum win betting and exacta wagering,
which is available in the form of $2 minimum straight exacta bets or
$1-minimum exacta boxes and part-wheels. No scratches
or betting refunds are permitted in the Derby Future Wager, but betting
on an individual horse will be suspended immediately if Churchill Downs
determines that an injury, illness or other circumstance revealed during
the pool would prevent that horse from competing
in the Kentucky Derby.
The 2013 Kentucky
Derby Future got off to a strong start with total wagering of $621,493
in its Feb. 8-10 opening pool – the second-largest wagering total in an
individual pool since the bet was introduced
in 1999. Win betting in Pool 1 totaled $481,632 and there was $139,861
in exacta betting.
Information on the Kentucky Derby is available online at the official event Web site at
www.KentuckyDerby.com and KDFW
real-time odds will be presented on that site throughout each three-day betting pool.
The individual wagering interests for the three KDFW 2013 pools are chosen by a committee that includes
Brad Free and
Mike Watchmaker of
Daily Racing Form; Brisnet.com
Marketing Director
Ed DeRosa; and Churchill Downs’
John Asher.