WAGERING SUSPENDED ON MISSISSIPPI (#16) IN KENTUCKY DERBY FUTURE POOL 4

By John Asher —-

Trainer Casse Reports Colt Will Run in Pat Day Mile; Wagering on Year’s Final Three-Day Pool Opens Friday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Thursday, April 5, 2018) – Churchill Downs has announced that betting will be suspended on trainer Mark Casse’s promising Mississippi (#16) in the fourth and final pool of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager (“KDFW”), which opens its three-day run at noon (all times EST) on Friday and will conclude at 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Casse informed Churchill Downs officials on Thursday that the 3-year-old son of Pioneerof the Nile would not be pointed to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade I) on Saturday, May 5. The trainer reported that Mississippi, the third-place finisher in the recent Florida Derby (GI) at Gulfstream Park, is being pointed toward a run earlier on Kentucky Derby Day at Churchill Downs in the $300,000 Pat Day Mile (Grade III). The latter is a one-mile race on the main track for 3-year-olds.

With the defection of Mississippi, the year’s final Kentucky Derby Future pool will consist of a total of 23 betting interests that include 22 individual horses and the Mutuel Field (#24), or “All Others”, a wager that includes all 3-year-old Thoroughbreds other than the remaining individuals.

Mississippi – who is owned by Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, John C. Oxley, Derrick Smith and Markus Jooste – had been installed as a 50-1 risk in Churchill Downs odds maker Mike Battaglia’s morning line for Pool 4.

The Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which is being offered for a 20th consecutive year, enables bettors to wager on possible contenders in advance of America’s greatest race at odds that could be more attractive than those available on Derby Day. The classic race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds will be run at Churchill Downs for the 144th consecutive year on Saturday, May 5.

Scratches are not permitted in the official rules for the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, but wagering can and will be suspended on a wagering interest should that individual suffer an injury or other circumstance that would prohibit the horse from competing in the big race on the first Saturday in May. While Mississippi has not suffered a physical ailment or training setback, Casse assured Churchill Downs officials on Thursday that Mississippi is being pointed to the Pat Day Mile and there was no chance that he would compete in the day’s main event.

Winning payouts in KDFW Pool 4 will be determined by the odds that are in place at Sunday’s conclusion of betting. Exactas are also offered as a $2 minimum wager, with part-wheels in $1 increments permitted in the minimum bet. Wagering will be offered on the year’s final KDFW pool via TwinSpires.com, the official betting partner of the Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup World Championships, and other online wagering platforms, along with racetracks and satellite wagering centers throughout North America.

Real-time odds and exacta will-pays can be viewed throughout the three-day pool at www.KentuckyDerby.com, the official event web site, and at TwinSpires.com. Free past performance information on the wagering interests in KDFW Pool 4 is available via Brisnet at www.Brisnet.com.

Churchill Downs, the world’s most legendary racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America’s greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ: CHDN) offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs will conduct the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve on May 5, 2018. The track’s 2018 Spring Meet is scheduled for April 28-June 30. An eight-time host to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, Churchill Downs will again be the site of that event on Nov. 2-3, 2018. Information is available at www.ChurchillDowns.com.