While Life Is Good yielded his favorite status in at least one Las Vegas future book, he holds down 6/1 individual favorite status in Pool 2 of Churchill Downs’ Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW) pool. At the same time, the Derby field of “All Other 3-Year-Olds†is the overall 9/5 favorite.
That bodes well for the field keeping its favorite status. Since Churchill Downs began the Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool in 1999, the field has been the favorite every year. In five of the last six years, the field closed at final odds of 5/2.
The latest Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool opens Friday at noon ET and closes Sunday at 6 p.m. ET. Bettors can place wagers at the TwinSpires ADW and at simulcast centers throughout the US. This is Churchill Downs’ way of getting into the Derby futures waters enjoyed by Nevada casinos such as Circa Sports and William Hill Nevada, along with several overseas books.
Future Kentucky Derby Future Wager pools take place from Feb. 12-14 (Pool 3), March 5-7 (Pool 4), and March 26-28 (Pool 5). The Kentucky Oaks Future Wager takes place with Pool 4.
The Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool offers $2 Win and $2 Exacta wagers. All bets become action. Should one of the horses suffer an injury during the three-day betting window, bets on that horse will be immediately suspended, said Churchill Downs officials.
Baffert, Cox Account for Nine Pool Horses Combined
Mike Battaglia, who makes Churchill Downs’ morning line along with the Derby morning line, posted odds on 24 betting choices: 23 individual horses and the “All Others†field.
Not surprisingly, Bob Baffert trains five horses represented in Pool 2. Aside from Sham Stakes winner Life Is Good, there’s recent maiden winner Concert Tour (15/1), Los Alamitos Futurity winner Spielberg (30/1), Sham runner-up Medina Spirit (12/1), and the unraced Bezos (20/1). This marks the first time an unraced horse cracked the KDFW field in the pool’s history.
2021 Kentucky Derby Futures Wager-Pool 2
| Trainer | Odds | |
| 1. Bezos | Bob Baffert | 20/1 |
| 2. Caddo River | Brad Cox | 30/1 |
| 3. Capo Kane | Harold Wyner | 30/1 |
| 4. Concert Tour | Bob Baffert | 15/1 |
| 5. Essential Quality | Brad Cox | 8/1 |
| 6. Fire At Will | Mike Maker | 30/1 |
| 7. Greatest Honour | Shug McGaughey | 50/1 |
| 8. Highly Motivated | Chad Brown | 20/1 |
| 9. Hot Rod Charlie | Doug O’Neill | 30/1 |
| 10. Jackie’s Warrior | Â Steve Asmussen | 20/1 |
| 11. Keepmeinmind | Robertino Diodoro | 20/1 |
| 12. Life Is Good | Bob Baffert | 6/1 |
| 13. Mandaloun | Brad Cox | 20/1 |
| 14. Medina Spirit | Bob Baffert | 12/1 |
| 15. Midnight Bourbon | Steve Asmussen | 30/1 |
| 16. Mutasaabeq | Todd Pletcher | 30/1 |
| 17. Olympiad | Bill Mott | 50/1 |
| 18. Prate | Brad Cox | 30/1 |
| 19. Prime Factor | Todd Pletcher | 30/1 |
| 20. Proxy | Mike Stidham | 50/1 |
| 21. Senor Buscador | Todd Fincher | 20/1 |
| 22. Spielberg | Bob Baffert | 30/1 |
| 23. Wipe the Slate | Doug O’Neill | 50/1 |
| 24. All Other 3-Year-Olds | — | 9/5 |
Also unsurprisingly, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Essential Quality is your 8/1 second choice. Those are the same odds the Brad Cox-trained, undefeated colt carries on William Hill’s board. Cox, meanwhile, carries three other horses into the pool: Caddo River (30/1), Mandaloun (20/1), and Prate (30/1).
Caddo River runs Friday in the Smarty Jones at Oaklawn. Mandaloun finished third in last Saturday’s Lecomte. Prate, meanwhile, broke his maiden in a maiden special weight race at Fair Grounds last month.
Quartet Opens at 50/1 Ceiling
Four horses hold up the top end of the odds spectrum: Greatest Honour, Olympiad, Lecomte runner-up Proxy, and Wipe the Slate. All four opened at 50/1.
Pool 1 went off on Thanksgiving weekend. In that pool, “All Other 3-Year-Old Colts and Geldings†closed as the 6/5 favorite. Life Is Good (5/1) and Essential Quality (8/1) closed as the two individual favorites. The individual odds went all the way up to Super Stock, who closed at 103/1.