The second of five pools for the Kentucky Derby Futures Wager (KDFW) opens Friday at noon ET with All Other 3-Year-Olds (aka the field), carrying 7/5 favorite odds. Meanwhile, the individual Pool 2 favorite comes from a trainer not usually seen with Derby favorites.
That would be Kenny McPeek, whose Smile Happy enters the three-day KDFW Pool 2 as the 8/1 individual favorite. The colt, expected to make his 2022 debut at the Feb. 5 Grade 3 Holy Bull at Gulfstream Park, embodies McPeek’s deep 3-year-old crop.
Smile Happy, who closed as the 8/1 individual favorite in November’s KDFW Pool 1, is one of four McPeek charges in the 23-horse individual pool. Joining him are stablemates Dash Attack (20/1), Tiz the Bomb (20/1), and Rattle N Roll (30/1).
Smile Happy won the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club on Thanksgiving weekend — the same weekend as the KDFW Pool 1. But it was a $10,000 bet by Jim “Mattress Mack†McIngvale that knocked Smile Happy’s odds down to 8/1. McIngvale owns Smile Happy’s sire, Runhappy.
Familiar names debut on KDFW
Dash Attack, who won the Smarty Jones at Oaklawn Park, is one of nine new Pool 2 entries. The others are first-level allowance winner Chasing Time (20/1), Jerome Stakes winner Courvoisier (30/1), debut maiden winner Emmanuel (50/1), Saratoga Special winner High Oak (50/1), Remington Springboard Mile winner Make It Big (50/1), Mucho Macho Man winner Simplification (30/1), Los Alamitos Futurity winner Slow Down Andy (15/1), and Kentucky Jockey Club third-place finisher White Abarrio (50/1).
Once again, the likes of Corniche, Messier, Pinehurst, Newgrange, and Rockefeller are conspicuous by their absence. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert trains that quintet. He is currently suspended by Churchill Downs from competing in the 2022 and 2023 derbies.
Corniche, meanwhile, remains the futures favorite at both Circa Sports (15/1) and Caesar’s-William Hill (6/1). At 19/1 (Circa) and 35/1 (Caesar’s-William Hill), Newgrange is the second favorite among Baffert charges. He won the Grade 3 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita earlier this month for his second victory in as many races.
Bettors refuse to abandon Baffert
This explains not only the heavy 7/5 favoritism for “All Other 3-Year-Olds†for this pool, but the 3/5 price that wager closed at in Pool 1. Bettors remain convinced that Baffert’s sophomores will find a barn more hospitable to Churchill Downs officials prior to the Derby.
After the KDFW pool opens on Friday, bettors can make $2 win and exacta bets on the horses or combos in the listed field. Horseplayers can wager at Churchill Downs, online, and at satellite wagering centers across North America.
2022 Kentucky Derby Future Wager-Pool 2
| Trainer | Odds | |
| Chasing Time | Steve Asmussen | 20/1 |
| Classic Causeway | Brian Lynch | 30/1 |
| Commandperformance | Todd Pletcher | 50/1 |
| Courvoisier | Kelly Breen | 30/1 |
| Dash Attack | Kenny McPeek | 20/1 |
| Emmanuel | Todd Pletcher | 50/1 |
| Epicenter | Steve Asmussen | 15/1 |
| Giant Game | Dale Romans | 30/1 |
| High Oak | Bill Mott | 50/1 |
| Jack Christopher | Chad Brown | 10/1 |
| Major General | Todd Pletcher | 50/1 |
| Make It Big | Saffie Joseph Jr. | 50/1 |
| Mo Donegal | Todd Pletcher | 12/1 |
| Pappacap | Mark Casse | 20/1 |
| Rattle N Roll | Kenny McPeek | 30/1 |
| Simplification | Antonio Sano | 30/1 |
| Slow Down Andy | Doug O’Neill | 15/1 |
| Smile Happy | Kenny McPeek | 8/1 |
| Tiz the Bomb | Kenny McPeek | 20/1 |
| Trafalgar | Al Stall Jr. | 50/1 |
| Varatti | Todd Pletcher | 50/1 |
| White Abarrio | Saffie Joseph Jr. | 50/1 |
| Zandon | Chad Brown | 12/1 |
| All Other 3-Year-Olds | — | 7/5 |
The track doesn’t allow KDFW refunds. Churchill Downs officials maintain that if one of the pool horses experiences an injury, illness or other circumstance that prevents participation in the 2022 Derby, betting on that horse will be immediately suspended.
The total handle for Pool 1 (Nov. 25-28, 2021) was $326,448 — a 30.9% increase from 2021’s opening pool.
The remaining KDFW dates are Feb. 11-13 (Pool 3), March 11-13 (Pool 4), and March 31-April 2 (Pool 5). The lone Kentucky Oaks Future Wager coincides with Pool 4.