BAFFERT’S GAME WINNER, IMPROBABLE HEAD KENTUCKY DERBY FUTURE WAGER

By Darren Rogers —-

Pool 2 Opens Friday and Concludes Sunday at 6 p.m. EDT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019) – Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s Grade I-winning duo of Game Winner and Improbable are the individual morning line favorites in Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager but “All Other 3-Year-Olds” is expected to be the overall preference when betting concludes Sunday.

Veteran odds maker Mike Battaglia has installed “All Other 3-Year-Olds” as the 5-2 early choice in the field of 24 betting interests for the three-day pool, which opens Friday at noon (all times EDT) and concludes Sunday at 6 p.m. The pari-mutuel field for the first pool of the New Year has closed as the bettors’ choice every year since the wager was inaugurated in 1999, and the final odds were 5-2 each of the last four years.

Unbeaten 2-year-old champion and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (Grade I) winner Game Winner is expected to garner the most support among the 23 individual betting interests with morning line odds of 6-1. Los Alamitos Futurity (GI) hero Improbable was projected as the 8-1 third choice.

Overall, five-time Kentucky Derby-winner Baffert, who swept last year’s Triple Crown with Justify, trains four of the betting interests. He also conditions maiden winner Coliseum (15-1), who impressively won his debut but faltered in his first attempt around two turns, and multiple graded stakes-winner Mucho Gusto (15-1), who won last weekend’s Robert B. Lewis (GIII) at Santa Anita.

Here’s the complete Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 2 field (with trainer and morning line odds):
#1 Bourbon War (Mark Hennig, 50-1); #2 Coliseum (Baffert, 15-1); #3 Game Winner (Baffert, 6-1); #4 Global Campaign (Stanley Hough, 50-1); #5 Gray Attempt (Jinks Fires, 50-1); #6 Gunmetal Gray (Jerry Hollendorfer, 20-1); #7 Harvey Wallbanger (Kenny McPeek, 20-1); #8 Hidden Scroll (Bill Mott, 12-1); #9 Improbable (Baffert, 8-1); #10 Instagrand (Hollendorfer, 10-1); #11 Knicks Go (Ben Colebrook, 30-1); #12 Limonite (Steve Asmussen, 50-1); #13 Maximus Mischief (Butch Reid, 20-1); #14 Mucho Gusto (Baffert, 15-1); #15 Network Effect (Chad Brown, 30-1); #16 Owendale (Brad Cox, 50-1); #17 Signalman (McPeek, 20-1); #18 Tacitus (Mott, 50-1); #19 Tax (Danny Gargan, 20-1); #20 Vekoma (George Weaver, 30-1); #21 Walking Thunder (Ahmad bin Harmash, 50-1); #22 War of Will (Mark Casse, 30-1); #23 Win Win Win (Mike Trombetta, 30-1); and #24 “All Other 3-Year-Olds” (5-2).

The Kentucky Derby Future Wagers, which feature $2 Win and Exacta wagering, provide fans of Thoroughbred racing with opportunities to place bets on possible entrants in the $3 million Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade I) at odds that could be far greater than those available on the day of the race. The 145th running of Kentucky Derby, America’s greatest race and the first leg of the Triple Crown, is set for Saturday, May 4 at Churchill Downs.

Bets can be placed at Churchill Downs Racetrack, TwinSpires.com and other online wagering outlets and satellite wagering centers across North America. There are no refunds in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager. Should Churchill Downs officials determine during the duration of the three-day pool that one of the wagering interests has experienced an injury, illness or other circumstance that would prevent the horse from participating in the Kentucky Derby, betting on the individual horse will be suspended immediately.

Total handle for Pool 1 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager on Nov. 22-25 was $258,389. “All Other 3-Year-Old Colts and Geldings” closed as the 6-5 favorite with Game Winner at 5-1.

Free Brisnet.com past performances are available at http://www.brisnet.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Derby19Future2.pdf. More information and real-time odds are available online at https://www.kentuckyderby.com/wager/future-wager. Dates for the remaining 2019 Kentucky Derby future pools are March 8-10 (Pool 3) and April 5-7 (Pool 4). The lone Kentucky Oaks Future Wager will coincide with Pool 3 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager on March 8-10.