With the Kentucky Derby 2023 still 23 weeks away, the pari-mutuel field of all other colts and geldings from the 2020 foal crop closed as the odds-on, 4-5 favorite, and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Forte was the 10-1 second choice Sunday night in pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager.
Others who attracted mild interest from bettors included maiden winner Extra Anejo (13-1), Breeders’ Futurity (G1) runner-up Loggins (19-1), unbeaten Giant Mischief (27-1), maiden winner Signator (27-1) and all fillies from the 2020 foal crop (29-1).
Horses trained by Bob Baffert were not included, because he remains suspended from the Derby and all races at Churchill Downs Inc. tracks until late next spring. The sanction was for the positive drug test for the late Medina Spirit after his first-place finish in the 2021 Derby.
Here were the horses in order of the public’s betting choice with pool 2 odds, $2 win will-pays, trainers and sires:
| KDFW pool 2 | Odds | $2 pay | Trainer | Sire |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All other 2yo males | 4-5 | $3.92 | ||
| Forte | 10-1 | $23.24 | Todd Pletcher | Violence |
| Extra Añejo | 13-1 | $29.14 | Steve Asmussen | Into Mischief |
| Loggins | 19-1 | $40.04 | Brad Cox | Ghostzapper |
| Signator | 27-1 | $56.14 | Shug McGaughey | Tapit |
| Giant Mischief | 27-1 | $56.32 | Brad Cox | Into Mischief |
| All 2yo fillies | 29-1 | $61.68 | ||
| Instant Coffee | 35-1 | $73.40 | Brad Cox | Bolt d'Oro |
| Blazing Sevens | 37-1 | $77.52 | Chad Brown | Good Magic |
| Echo Again | 45-1 | $92.24 | Steve Asmussen | Gun Runner |
| Disarm | 45-1 | $93.58 | Steve Asmussen | Gun Runner |
| Cyclone Mischief | 47-1 | $97.34 | Dale Romans | Into Mischief |
| Litigate | 57-1 | $117.66 | Todd Pletcher | Blame |
| Victory Formation | 60-1 | $123.22 | Brad Cox | Tapwrit |
| Curly Jack | 61-1 | $124.38 | Tom Amoss | Good Magic |
| Tuskegee Airmen | 64-1 | $130.46 | John Servis | Street Sense |
| Awesome Strong | 64-1 | $131.20 | Jorge Delgado | Awesome Slew |
| Capture the Flag | 65-1 | $133.16 | Shug McGaughey | Quality Road |
| Corona Bolt | 65-1 | $133.50 | Brad Cox | Bolt d'Oro |
| Expect More | 70-1 | $142.98 | Todd Pletcher | City of Light |
| Gulfport | 70-1 | $143.56 | Steve Asmussen | Uncle Mo |
| Verifying | 74-1 | $150.66 | Brad Cox | Justify |
| Forbidden Secret | 80-1 | $163.24 | Todd Pletcher | Outwork |
| General Jim | 82-1 | $166.68 | Shug McGaughey | Into Mischief |
| Hit Show | 90-1 | $182.68 | Brad Cox | Candy Ride |
| Tapit's Conquest | 94-1 | $190.00 | Brad Cox | Tapit |
| Cascais | 107-1 | $216.22 | Chad Brown | Into Mischief |
| Mr. Ripple | 120-1 | $243.92 | Saffie Joseph Jr. | Dialed In |
| Champions Dream | 131-1 | $264.50 | Danny Gargan | Justify |
| Rocket Can | 132-1 | $267.50 | Bill Mott | Into Mischief |
| Navy Man | 133-1 | $268.50 | Michael McCarthy | Bolt d'Oro |
| Bromley | 141-1 | $285.78 | Paulo Lobo | Mastery |
| Denington | 159-1 | $320.60 | Kenny McPeek | Gun Runner |
| Full Moon Madness | 179-1 | $361.96 | Michelle Nevin | Into Mischief |
| Recruiter | 182-1 | $366.94 | Cathal Lynch | Army Mule |
| Ten Days Later | 187-1 | $376.68 | Kenny McPeek | Collected |
| Hal (g) | 198-1 | $399.24 | Darwin Banach | Accelerate |
| Joking Way | 279-1 | $561.04 | Steve Asmussen | Practical Joke |
| Practical Move | 350-1 | $703.62 | Tim Yakteen | Practical Joke |
| Frank's Honor | scratch | Kenny McPeek | Honor Code | |
| (g) Gelding |
The total handle for the Nov. 24-27 KDFW pool, the second of six scheduled in advance of the May 6 Kentucky Derby, was $162,112, including $129,213 in the win pool and $32,899 in exactas.
This year’s early Derby betting menu also included the Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager, which for the eighth consecutive year provided bettors with a unique opportunity to wager on select breeding stars and their entire crop of juveniles with the hope of winning next year’s Kentucky Derby.
All other sires at 5-1 and Into Mischief progeny at 7-1 attracted the most attention from bettors.
Sires in order of favoritism for the Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager:
| Sire Future Wager | Odds | $2 pay |
|---|---|---|
| All other sires | 5-1 | $13.84 |
| Into Mischief | 7-1 | $16.14 |
| Violence | 11-1 | $25.24 |
| Gun Runner | 12-1 | $26.14 |
| Uncle Mo | 13-1 | $28.64 |
| Curlin | 16-1 | $34.06 |
| Justify | 16-1 | $35.10 |
| Tapit | 17-1 | $36.04 |
| Bolt d'Oro | 18-1 | $39.92 |
| Ghostzapper | 19-1 | $40.80 |
| Quality Road | 19-1 | $41.30 |
| Good Magic | 25-1 | $53.10 |
| Arrogate | 27-1 | $56.50 |
| Candy Ride | 30-1 | $62.82 |
| American Pharoah | 45-1 | $92.72 |
| Hard Spun | 48-1 | $98.58 |
| Cairo Prince | 50-1 | $103.36 |
| City of Light | 60-1 | $122.40 |
| Not This Time | 60-1 | $123.52 |
| Street Sense | 66-1 | $135.50 |
| Practical Joke | 69-1 | $140.20 |
| Bernardini | 75-1 | $152.90 |
| Nyquist | 76-1 | $154.64 |
| Constitution | 80-1 | $162.06 |
| Mendelssohn | 84-1 | $171.68 |
| Runhappy | 89-1 | $180.08 |
| Medaglia d'Oro | 91-1 | $185.86 |
| West Coast | 96-1 | $195.74 |
| Empire Maker | 98-1 | $199.60 |
| Pioneerof the Nile | 106-1 | $215.52 |
| War Front | 111-1 | $225.10 |
| Girvin | 114-1 | $231.52 |
| More Than Ready | 126-1 | $254.82 |
| Malibu Moon | 134-1 | $271.94 |
| Union Rags | 138-1 | $279.44 |
| Sharp Azteca | 141-1 | $285.34 |
| Classic Empire | 146-1 | $295.76 |
| Cloud Computing | 154-1 | $311.68 |
| Speightstown | 175-1 | $352.34 |
| Flatter | 199-1 | $401.16 |
Total betting on the Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager was $33,732, including $24,557 in the win pool and $9,175 in the exactas.
The KDFW pool 2 and Sire Future Wager combined to handle $195,844. The total handle for the new Nov. 1-3 KDFW pool 1, the earliest pool is the history of the wager, was $114,910, including $90,007 in the win pool and $24,903 in exactas.
Other future-wager dates are set for Jan. 20-22 (pool 3), Feb. 10-12 (pool 4), March 10-12 (pool 5) and March 30-April 1 (pool 6). The lone Kentucky Oaks Future Wager will coincide with Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool 5 spanning March 10-12.
