'All others,' Smile Happy lead Kentucky Derby Future Wager
With the Kentucky Derby still 23 weeks away, the pari-mutuel field of “all other 3-year-old colts and geldings” closed as the 3-5 favorite in Pool 1 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, and Smile Happy was the 8-1 second choice.
Smile Happy, the 3 1/4-length winner of Saturday’s $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) at Churchill Downs, had his odds drop from 15-1 around 5 p.m. ET when Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, the Houston furniture store owner who campaigned Smile Happy’s sire Runhappy, bet $10,000 to win on the Kentucky-bred colt who is unbeaten in two starts.
RELATED: Mattress Mack discusses his big Derby bets.
Jack Christopher closed at 10-1. The impressive Champagne (G1) winner for trainer Chad Brown was expected to be the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile favorite before he was scratched. He is expected to resume training in early 2022 following surgery to repair a left-shin stress fracture.
Other horses who attracted mild interest from bettors included Breeders’ Futurity winner Rattle N Roll (21-1), Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and American Pharoah (G1) runner-up Pappacap (23-1), Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf runner-up Tiz the Bomb (24-1) and Hopeful (G1) winner Gunite (25-1).
Click here to see 2022 Kentucky Derby contenders.
Horses in order of the public’s betting choice:
| Horse | Trainer | Sire | Odds | $2 will pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24. All other 2-year-olds | 3-5 | $ 3.40 | ||
| 18. Smile Happy | Kenny McPeek | Runhappy | 8-1 | 19.20 |
| 11. Jack Christopher | Chad Brown | Munnings | 10-1 | 23.20 |
| 17. Rattle N Roll | Kenny McPeek | Connect | 21-1 | 45.80 |
| 16. Pappacap | Mark Casse | Gun Runner | 23-1 | 49.40 |
| 19. Tiz the Bomb | Kenny McPeek | Hit It a Bomb | 24-1 | 51.00 |
| 9. Gunite | Steve Asmussen | Gun Runner | 25-1 | 53.80 |
| 3. Commandperformance | Todd Pletcher | Union Rags | 31-1 | 64.80 |
| 7. Giant Game | Dale Romans | Giant's Causeway | 37-1 | 77.40 |
| 13. Mo Donegal | Todd Pletcher | Uncle Mo | 37-1 | 77.60 |
| 23. All 2-year-old fillies | 41-1 | 85.20 | ||
| 12. Major General | Todd Pletcher | Constitutioin | 43-1 | 88.60 |
| 10. Howling Time | Dale Romans | Not This Time | 43-1 | 89.60 |
| 2. Classic Causeway | Brian Lynch | Giant's Causeway | 44-1 | 90.20 |
| 5. Epicenter | Steve Asmussen | Not This Time | 52-1 | 106.80 |
| 21. Varatti | Todd Pletcher | Into Mischief | 54-1 | 111.80 |
| 22. Zandon | Chad Brown | Upstart | 56-1 | 114.40 |
| 1. Ben Diesel | Dallas Stewart | Will Take Charge | 66-1 | 134.20 |
| 4. Double Thunder | Todd Pletcher | Super Saver | 72-1 | 147.00 |
| 15. Oviatt Class | Keith Desormeaux | Bernardini | 87-1 | 177.20 |
| 20. Trafalgar | Al Stall Jr. | Lord Nelson | 98-1 | 198.80 |
| 8. Graphic Detail | Bill Mott | Practical Joke | 133-1 | 269.00 |
| 6. Forced Ranking | Chad Brown | Mastery | 138-1 | 279.80 |
| 14. Osbourne (g) | Ron Moquett | Tapiture | 155-1 | 312.80 |
Total handle for the Nov. 25-28 KDFW pool, the first of five scheduled wagering pools in advance of the May 7 Kentucky Derby, was $326,448 ($263,008 in the win pool and $63,440 in exactas), up 30.9 percent from last year’s $249,331 ($191,984 in the win Pool and $57,347 in exactas).
Inaugurated in 1999, the Kentucky Derby Future Wager has been offered for a 24th consecutive year, but this marks just the ninth time that Churchill Downs has hosted a KDFW pool on closing weekend of its fall meet.
This year’s early Derby betting menu also included the Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager, which, for the seventh consecutive year, provided bettors with an opportunity to wager on select breeding stars and their entire crop of juveniles with the hope of winning next year’s Kentucky Derby.
“All other sires” at 7-2 and Runhappy at 7-1 attracted the most attention from bettors. McIngvale plunged $2,500 on his prized sire around 5 p.m. EST to lower his odds from 17-1 to the second betting choice. Gun Runner progeny were the 9-1 third betting choice.
Sires in order of favoritism for the Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager:
| Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager | Odds | $2 will pay |
|---|---|---|
| 24. All other sires | 7-2 | $ 9.60 |
| 16. Runhappy | 7-1 | 16.00 |
| 6. Gun Runner | 9-1 | 20.00 |
| 15. Quality Road | 10-1 | 23.20 |
| 7. Into Mischief | 14-1 | 30.00 |
| 4. Empire Maker | 16-1 | 35.80 |
| 3. Curlin | 17-1 | 37.80 |
| 19. Tapit | 18-1 | 38.00 |
| 10. Munnings | 18-1 | 39.80 |
| 1. American Pharoah | 20-1 | 42.60 |
| 11. Not This Time | 23-1 | 48.20 |
| 5. Giant's Causeway | 24-1 | 51.00 |
| 21. Uncle Mo | 25-1 | 53.40 |
| 22. Union Rags | 29-1 | 60.00 |
| 9. Medaglia d'Oro | 32-1 | 66.60 |
| 14. Practical Joke | 33-1 | 69.60 |
| 2. Candy Ride (Arg) | 37-1 | 76.80 |
| 12. Nyquist | 40-1 | 83.20 |
| 18. Street Sense | 41-1 | 84.00 |
| 23. Violence | 45-1 | 93.80 |
| 20. Twirling Candy | 48-1 | 98.80 |
| 13. Pioneerof the Nile | 53-1 | 108.40 |
| 17. Speightstown | 75-1 | 152.40 |
| 8. Mastery | 76-1 | 155.80 |
Total betting on the Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager was a record $50,205 ($38,073 in the win pool and $12,132 in the exactas), up 5.5 percent from the old record last year of $47,567 ($33,269 in the win pool and $14,298 in exactas).
The KDFW and Sire Future Wager combined to handle $376,653, a 26.9 percent jump from last year’s $296,898.
The other Future Wager dates are set for Jan. 21-23 (Pool 2), Feb. 11-13 (Pool 3), March 11-13 (Pool 4) and March 31-April 2 (Pool 5). The lone Kentucky Oaks Future Wager will coincide with Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 4 March 11-13.