Futures: Journalism, Good Cheer are Ky. Derby, Oaks favorites
Less than seven weeks ahead of the run for the roses, Grade 2 San Felipe winner Journalism closed Sunday as the 5-1 favorite in pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager with Fountain of Youth (G2) victor Sovereignty the 7-1 second betting choice.
In the lone Kentucky Oaks Future Wager, which was conducted concurrently with the KDFW pool 5, unbeaten Rachel Alexandra (G2) winner Good Cheer closed as the 2-1 favorite over Las Virgenes (G3) victor Tenma (13-1) and all 3-year-old fillies not individually nominated (14-1).
Betting on all future wagers over the three-day period, which included an Oaks-Derby double, was $593,696, a 29.6% gain from last year’s $458,269.
Champion 2-year-old male and Robert B. Lewis (G3) winner Citizen Bull closed as the 9-1 third betting option in the KDFW and was followed by all other 3-year-olds (10-1), Rebel (G2) winner Coal Battle (14-1), San Felipe runner-up Barnes (15-1), debut victor Cornucopian (15-1) and Sunland Derby runner-up Caldera (18-1).
Horses are shown here in order of favoritism in the three-day March 14-16 KDFW pool 5 with trainers, sire, odds and $2 win will-pays:
| KDFW pool 5 | Trainer | Sire | Odds | $2 will pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Journalism | Michael McCarthy | Curlin | 5-1 | $12.58 |
| 35 Sovereignty | Bill Mott | Into Mischief | 7-1 | $16.64 |
| 10 Citizen Bull | Bob Baffert | Into Mischief | 9-1 | $21.80 |
| 40 All other 3yos | 10-1 | $22.80 | ||
| 12 Coal Battle | Lonnie Briley | Coal Front | 14-1 | $31.44 |
| 2 Barnes | Bob Baffert | Into Mischief | 15-1 | $32.68 |
| 13 Cornucopian | Bob Baffert | Into Mischief | 15-1 | $33.02 |
| 5 Caldera | D. Wayne Lukas | Liam's Map | 18-1 | $38.52 |
| 34 Sandman | Mark Casse | Tapit | 22-1 | $46.04 |
| 8 Chancer McPatrick | Chad Brown | McKinzie | 29-1 | $60.90 |
| 22 John Hancock | Brad Cox | Constitution | 29-1 | $61.74 |
| 4 Burnham Square | Ian Wilkes | Liam's Map | 35-1 | $72.42 |
| 21 Hill Road | Chad Brown | Quality Road | 36-1 | $75.82 |
| 15 East Avenue | Brendan Walsh | Medaglia d'Oro | 38-1 | $78.96 |
| 16 Flood Zone | Brad Cox | Frosted | 39-1 | $81.52 |
| 14 Disruptor | Todd Pletcher | Gun Runner | 39-1 | $81.86 |
| 27 Owen Almighty | Brian Lynch | Speightstown | 46-1 | $94.46 |
| 7 Captain Cook | Rick Dutrow Jr. | Practical Joke | 51-1 | $104.26 |
| 25 Madaket Road | Bob Baffert | Quality Road | 54-1 | $110.50 |
| 3 Built | Wayne Catalano | Hard Spun | 56-1 | $114.96 |
| 29 Praetor | Chad Brown | Into Mischief | 57-1 | $117.82 |
| 39 Yinzer | Steve Asmussen | Twirling Candy | 63-1 | $129.32 |
| 37 Tappan Street | Brad Cox | Into Mischief | 64-1 | $131.70 |
| 31 River Thames | Todd Pletcher | Maclean's Music | 65-1 | $133.72 |
| 20 Grande | Todd Pletcher | Curlin | 66-1 | $135.92 |
| 1 Baeza | John Shirreffs | McKinzie | 68-1 | $139.00 |
| 18 Getaway Car | Bob Baffert | Curlin | 68-1 | $139.92 |
| 28 Poster | [Eoin Harty | Munnings | 69-1 | $141.40 |
| 9 Chunk of Gold | Ethan West | Preservationist | 85-1 | $172.90 |
| 24 Luxor Cafe | Noriyuki Hori | American Pharoah | 98-1 | $199.62 |
| 32 Rodriguez | Bob Baffert | Authentic | 107-1 | $217.38 |
| 38 Tiztastic | Steve Asmussen | Tiz the Law | 119-1 | $240.40 |
| 11 Clever Again | Steve Asmussen | American Pharoah | 125-1 | $253.18 |
| 30 Rapture | Brad Cox | Uncle Mo | 127-1 | $256.80 |
| 6 California Burrito | Tommy Drury | Army Mule | 130-1 | $263.96 |
| 36 Speed King | Ron Moquett | Volatile | 131-1 | $264.14 |
| 33 Sand Devil | Linda Rice | Violence | 190-1 | $383.44 |
| 17 Garamond | Chad Brown | Uncle Mo | 266-1 | $534.92 |
| 26 Neoequos | Saffie Joseph Jr. | Neolitic | 404-1 | $810.30 |
| 19 Gosger | Brendan Walsh | Nyquist | 413-1 | $828.40 |
The Kentucky Derby Future Wager, offered for a 27th consecutive year, enables bettors to wager on possible Derby contenders at odds that could be more attractive than those available on the day of the race. The 151st Derby will be run May 3.
The final odds for the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager:
| Ky. Oaks Future Wager | Trainer | Odds | $2 will pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Good Cheer | Brad Cox | 2-1 | $6.78 |
| 35 Tenma | Bob Baffert | 13-1 | $29.92 |
| 40 All other 3yo fillies | 14-1 | $31.36 | |
| 12 Five G | George Weaver | 15-1 | $32.78 |
| 28 Quietside | John Ortiz | 19-1 | $40.14 |
| 13 Fondly | Graham Motion | 19-1 | $40.58 |
| 3 Ballerina d'Oro | Chad Brown | 19-1 | $41.02 |
| 23 Muhimma | Brad Cox | 22-1 | $47.90 |
| 9 Decadent | Kenny McPeek | 25-1 | $52.02 |
| 36 The Queens M G | Saffie Joseph Jr. | 25-1 | $53.98 |
| 30 Simply Joking | Whit Beckman | 29-1 | $61.70 |
| 33 Supa Speed | John Sadler | 29-1 | $61.74 |
| 19 La Cara | Mark Casse | 31-1 | $64.56 |
| 21 Madame Secretary | Richard Mandella | 33-1 | $68.38 |
| 34 Take Charge Milady | Kenny McPeek | 35-1 | $73.48 |
| 11 Eclatant | Brad Cox | 36-1 | $75.70 |
| 10 Drexel Hill | Whit Beckman | 46-1 | $95.36 |
| 22 Maysam | Bob Baffert | 51-1 | $105.36 |
| 1 Ahavah | Cherie DeVaux | 52-1 | $106.96 |
| 37 Velvet Vortex | Brad Cox | 58-1 | $118.00 |
| 27 Quickick | Tom Amoss | 59-1 | $120.54 |
| 5 Bourbon Memory | Brendan Walsh | 61-1 | $124.78 |
| 38 Vodka With a Twist | Phil D'Amato | 64-1 | $131.74 |
| 39 White Rocks | Arnaud Delacour | 65-1 | $132.52 |
| 17 Her Laugh | Whit Beckman | 66-1 | $135.38 |
| 29 Running Away | Wesley Ward | 70-1 | $142.50 |
| 6 Brilliantly | Bob Baffert | 70-1 | $143.26 |
| 25 Pretty Sassy | Brendan Walsh | 75-1 | $152.02 |
| 32 Stunner | Brad Cox | 92-1 | $186.82 |
| 2 Amarth | Eddie Kenneally | 93-1 | $189.60 |
| 16 Gowells Delight | Kenny McPeek | 105-1 | $212.98 |
| 8 Chasten | Brad Cox | 105-1 | $213.40 |
| 24 Paradise City | Saffie Joseph Jr. | 111-1 | $225.06 |
| 26 Princess Aliyah | D. Wayne Lukas | 116-1 | $235.30 |
| 7 Cassiar | Shug McGaughey | 145-1 | $293.66 |
| 4 Bless the Broken | Will Walden | 168-1 | $338.00 |
| 20 Look Forward | Michael McCarthy | 175-1 | $353.30 |
| 14 Golden Sunshine | Eoin Harty | 189-1 | $380.40 |
| 18 Justinqueso | Ian Wilkes | 210-1 | $422.42 |
| 31 Snowyte | Danny Gargan | 418-1 | $839.72 |
Handle for the KDFW in the fifth of six scheduled wagering pools was $430,006, including $328,063 in the win pool and $102,003 in exactas, an increase of 28.5% from last year’s $334,581 that included $246,076 in the win pool and $85,506 in exactas.
Betting on the Oaks totaled $79,974 with $58,629 in the win pool and $21,345 in exactas, a 14.7% jump vs. 2024’s $69,717 with $48,334 in the win pool and $21,384 in exactas.
The Oaks-Derby double, which requires bettors to correctly select the winners of both races, handled $83,716, a 55.1% increase compared with last year’s $53,971.
Through the first five pools, $1,847,627 have been bet on Derby future wagers, a 10.2% increase from last year’s $1,676,353.
The year’s sixth and final Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool is set for Thursday, April 3, through Saturday, April 5. Different from the first five pools of the KDFW, Pool 6 will close before the first road to the Kentucky Derby championship series race on April 5.