Just like it did in November’s Pool 1, the Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 2 finished with All Other 3-Year-Olds as the favorite, and Smile Happy closing as the individual favorite. While Smile Happy closed at the same 8/1 odds he finished at in Pool 1, All Other 3-Year-Olds wound up 9/5 in the second of five KDFW pools.
In November, All Other 3-Year-Olds – aka the Field – closed odds-on at 3/5. Since Churchill Downs instituted the KDFW in 1999, the field has closed as the favorite every year.
This year’s field bet technically encompasses colts such as Corniche, Newgrange, Messier, and Pinehurst — all of which are Bob Baffert-trained stakes winners. Again, no members of Baffert’s 3-year-old armada were listed individually due to his suspension from Churchill Downs.
Smile Happy and his Kenny McPeek stablemate, Tiz the Bomb (10/1), closed as the two individual favorites. Neither has entered a starting gate in 2022. Smile Happy won the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club in November. Tiz the Bomb was entered in that race, but scratched. He hasn’t raced since finishing second to Corniche in the Nov. 6 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar.
One KDFW horse in single digits
Again, Smile Happy closed as the only individual favorite in single digits. Bettors chased the injured Jack Christopher (14/1) and pool newcomers Chasing Time and Emmanuel. Both closed at 17/1. Neither has run a stakes race yet.
Trained by Steve Asmussen, Chasing Time won an allowance. Todd Pletcher’s Emmanuel captured a maiden special weight. Following them were McPeek’s Rattle N Roll and Doug O’Neill’s Slow Down Andy. Both closed at 20/1.
Big drop between No. 3 and No. 4 in Lecomte Stakes
The runner-up and third-place horses from Saturday’s Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds, Epicenter and Pappacap, closed at 24/1. Trafalgar, the fourth-place Lecomte finisher, wound up the third-longest shot on the board at 77/1. The two longest shots were Make It Big (85/1) and pool newcomer White Abarrio (171/1).
Horseplayers make $2 win bets or $2 exacta bets in the KDFW. That produced a total handle of $361,209, a 12.2% jump from last year’s KDFW Pool 2.
The next KDFW is Feb. 11-13 (Pool 3). Other pools are March 11-13 (Pool 4), and March 31-April 2 (Pool 5). The lone Kentucky Oaks Future Wager runs concurrently with Pool 4.
