Whether they are fixed odds in Las Vegas or the national pari-mutuels, Todd Pletcher stablemates Forte and Tapit Trice ran away from the rest of the futures market and established themselves as the top two choices for Kentucky Derby 2023.
Once the dust settled on the announcement that former favorite Arabian Knight was off the Derby trail, Fountain of Youth (G2) winner Forte shortened to 3-1 odds at both Caesars Sportsbook and Circa Sports.
Forte, Wet Paint are pari-mutuel favorites for Derby, Oaks.
Also offering yes-no propositions on its top four choices, Circa made Forte minus 380 not to win the Derby, meaning a winning $380 bet that any other horse would win May 6 would pay $100.
Forte also was the 3-1 favorite Sunday night when pool 5 of the nationwide Kentucky Derby Future Wager closed at Churchill Downs.
Thanks to his come-from-behind victory Saturday in the Tampa Bay Derby (G3), Tapit Trice was cut from 15-1 to 8-1 at Caesars and from 12-1 to 6-1 at Circa, where his “no” price was minus 850. He also closed at 8-1 in the KDFW win pool.
San Felipe (G2) winner Practical Move was cut from 18-1 to 14-1 at Circa and from 15-1 to 12-1 at Caesars. The colt, who has been with trainer Tim Yakteen for all his races, is priced at 1-24 in the “no” pool at Circa. He was 12-1 in the KDFW.
Instant Coffee, the Lecomte (G3) winner whom Brad Cox is working back for a probable start March 25 in the Louisiana Derby (G2), held firm at 15-1 at Circa and was cut from that price to 14-1 at Caesars. Circa showed him at 1-26 to miss out on winning the Derby. He finished at 19-1 in the KDFW.
Arabian Knight, the 2-for-2 Southwest (G3) winner who was transferred last month from Bob Baffert to Yakteen, was 5-1 at Caesars and Circa and 6-1 in the KDFW when owner Amr Zedan said Saturday night that he would be taken out of consideration for the Derby. “Trainer Tim Yakteen wasn’t happy with his last work,” Zedan said.
Caesars put two new names in its Derby futures and dropped three, giving bettors 71 choices. It cut the odds for 18 horses and drifted them for two others.
Circa added one horse and dropped 28 from its futures, leaving 85 on its list. It shortened the odds for 49 of them and went longer with 23.
The 39 individual choices in the KDFW were among those still on the boards in Nevada. The “all other 3-year-olds” not singled out on its list closed at 10-1.
These were the combined 98 individual horses listed at Caesars, Circa and the KDFW with their best prices shown in bold type:
| Kentucky Derby 2023 | Caesars | Circa | KDFW | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forte | 3-1 | 3-1 | 3-1 | Todd Pletcher |
| Tapit Trice | 8-1 | 6-1 | 8-1 | Todd Pletcher |
| Practical Move | 12-1 | 14-1 | 12-1 | Tim Yakteen |
| Instant Coffee | 14-1 | 15-1 | 19-1 | Brad Cox |
| Confidence Game | 24-1 | 30-1 | 30-1 | Keith Desormeaux |
| Geaux Rocket Ride | 25-1 | 30-1 | 30-1 | Richard Mandella |
| Red Route One | 22-1 | 30-1 | 24-1 | Steve Asmussen |
| Reincarnate | 18-1 | 30-1 | 24-1 | Tim Yakteen |
| Verifying | 22-1 | 32-1 | 36-1 | Brad Cox |
| Awesome Strong | 40-1 | Jorge Delgado | ||
| Hit Show | 40-1 | 30-1 | 28-1 | Brad Cox |
| Rocket Can | 40-1 | 40-1 | 42-1 | Bill Mott |
| Angel of Empire | 45-1 | 50-1 | 38-1 | Brad Cox |
| Henry Q | 50-1 | 35-1 | Todd Fincher | |
| Kingsbarns | 50-1 | 40-1 | 43-1 | Todd Pletcher |
| Skinner | 45-1 | 50-1 | 45-1 | John Shirreffs |
| Disarm | 50-1 | 55-1 | 60-1 | Steve Asmussen |
| National Treasure | 15-1 | 60-1 | 53-1 | Tim Yakteen |
| Worcester | 65-1 | Bob Baffert | ||
| Litigate | 35-1 | 55-1 | 66-1 | Todd Pletcher |
| Dreamlike | 70-1 | Todd Pletcher | ||
| Raise Cain | 50-1 | 70-1 | 66-1 | Ben Colebrook |
| Blazing Sevens | 45-1 | 75-1 | 66-1 | Chad Brown |
| Classic Legacy | 60-1 | 75-1 | Bill Mott | |
| Curly Jack | 60-1 | 75-1 | Tom Amoss | |
| Echo Again | 75-1 | Steve Asmussen | ||
| Slip Mahoney | 60-1 | 75-1 | Brad Cox | |
| Victory Formation | 60-1 | 65-1 | 82-1 | Brad Cox |
| Classic Car Wash | 75-1 | 85-1 | Mark Casse | |
| Hejazi | 70-1 | 85-1 | 53-1 | Tim Yakteen |
| Sun Thunder | 65-1 | 60-1 | 85-1 | Kenny McPeek |
| Cyclone Mischief | 60-1 | 75-1 | 89-1 | Dale Romans |
| Tapit's Conquest | 50-1 | 40-1 | 90-1 | Brad Cox |
| Cairo | 100-1 | 75-1 | Aidan O'Brien | |
| Corona Bolt | 100-1 | Brad Cox | ||
| Gulfport | 100-1 | Steve Asmussen | ||
| Jace's Road | 70-1 | 100-1 | Brad Cox | |
| Mage | 100-1 | 75-1 | 75-1 | Gustavo Delgado |
| Mo Strike | 100-1 | Brad Cox | ||
| Scoobie Quando | 100-1 | Ben Colebrook | ||
| Two Phil's | 50-1 | 100-1 | 88-1 | Larry Rivelli |
| Dubyuhnell | 100-1 | 110-1 | Danny Gargan | |
| Arthur's Ride | 125-1 | 125-1 | Bill Mott | |
| Shopper's Revenge | 125-1 | 100-1 | Steve Asmussen | |
| Tapit Shoes | 125-1 | 125-1 | Brad Cox | |
| Banishing | 50-1 | 150-1 | Brendan Walsh | |
| Bishops Bay | 135-1 | 150-1 | Brad Cox | |
| Bo Cruz | 150-1 | Al Stall Jr. | ||
| Congruent | 60-1 | 150-1 | 94-1 | Antonio Sano |
| Crupi | 100-1 | 150-1 | Todd Pletcher | |
| General Jim | 135-1 | 150-1 | 65-1 | Shug McGaughey |
| Giant Mischief | 60-1 | 150-1 | Brad Cox | |
| Gold Magic | 150-1 | Kevin Attard | ||
| Kangaroo Court (g) | 125-1 | 150-1 | Tim Yakteen | |
| Point Proven | 100-1 | 150-1 | Todd Pletcher | |
| Super Chow | 150-1 | Jorge Delgado | ||
| Wildatlanticstorm | 150-1 | Ray Ashford | ||
| Bourbon Bash | 175-1 | D. Wayne Lukas | ||
| Demolition Duke | 175-1 | Brad Cox | ||
| Fort Bragg | 125-1 | 175-1 | Tim Yakteen | |
| General Banker | 150-1 | 175-1 | Jimmy Ferraro | |
| Powerful | 175-1 | Steve Asmussen | ||
| Protégé | 175-1 | Ron Moquett | ||
| Cagliostro | 100-1 | 189-1 | Cherie DeVaux | |
| Arabian Lion | 125-1 | 200-1 | 179-1 | Tim Yakteen |
| Arctic Arrogance | 150-1 | 200-1 | Linda Rice | |
| Classic Catch | 125-1 | 200-1 | 179-1 | Todd Pletcher |
| Continuar | 200-1 | Yoshito Yahagi | ||
| Denington | 200-1 | 241-1 | Kenny McPeek | |
| Derma Sotogake | 200-1 | Hidetaka Otonashi | ||
| Eyeing Clover | 200-1 | Brad Cox | ||
| First Defender | 175-1 | 200-1 | Steve Asmussen | |
| Fort Warren | 125-1 | 200-1 | Brittany Russell | |
| Gun Pilot | 125-1 | 200-1 | Steve Asmussen | |
| Mandarin Hero | 200-1 | 116-1 | Terunobu Fujita | |
| Mr. Ripple | 75-1 | 200-1 | Saffie Joseph Jr. | |
| Perrière | 200-1 | 59-1 | Yoichi Kuroiwa | |
| Shadow Dragon | 200-1 | Bill Mott | ||
| Uncle Jake | 200-1 | Brittany Russell | ||
| Event Detail | 225-1 | Paulo Lobo | ||
| Bromley | 150-1 | 250-1 | Paulo Lobo | |
| Carmel Road | 250-1 | Tim Yakteen | ||
| Harlocap | 125-1 | 250-1 | Steve Asmussen | |
| Two Eagles River | 150-1 | 150-1 | 270-1 | Chris Hartman |
| Funtastic Again | 300-1 | Wesley Ward | ||
| Genius Jimmy | 300-1 | Michael McCarthy | ||
| Giroovin | 300-1 | Genaro García | ||
| Howgreatisnate | 300-1 | Andy Simoff | ||
| Invulnerable | 300-1 | Joe Sharp | ||
| Jungfrau | 150-1 | 300-1 | Bill Mott | |
| Lord Miles | 150-1 | 300-1 | Saffie Joseph Jr. | |
| Lugan Knight | 300-1 | Michael McCarthy | ||
| Major Dude | 150-1 | 300-1 | 141-1 | Todd Pletcher |
| Neural Network | 300-1 | Chad Brown | ||
| Prairie Hawk | 300-1 | Saffie Joseph Jr. | ||
| Recruiter | 300-1 | Cathal Lynch | ||
| Single Ruler | 300-1 | Keith Desormeaux | ||
| Uncorrelated | 300-1 | Chad Brown | ||
| *All other 3-year-olds | 10-1 | |||
| (g) gelding | ||||
| *KDFW only |
