Kentucky Derby 2014 Future Wager Kicks Off Wednesday

Thanksgiving Weekend racing fans looking for great deals on contenders for Kentucky Derby 2014 have  opportunities this week to do their earliest shopping ever as Churchill Downs’ Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW) opens a four-day run on Wednesday, Nov. 27. The first Thanksgiving weekend KDFW pool will close Saturday, Nov. 30.

 

Churchill Downs handicapper Mike Battaglia has installed the “All Others” wagering interest #24 as the odds-on 2-to-5 favorite at this early stage on the journey to the 2014 Derby at the historic Louisville, Ky. track. But the support for the anticipated overwhelming favorite should provide Derby fans with opportunities to secure attractive odds on the remaining 23 individual stars included among the pool’s 24 betting interests.

 

The Kentucky Derby 2014 Future Wager Betting Interests are:

 

The special four-day Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool – the first ever offered before Derby contenders enter their 3-year-old seasons on New Year’s Day – will open Wednesday at noon (all times Eastern) and closes Saturday, Nov. 30 prior to post time of either the $400,000 Remsen (Grade II) at Aqueduct or Churchill Downs’ $150,000-added Kentucky Jockey Club (GII) – which ever race comes first.

 

Both events for 2-year-olds are part of the “Kentucky Derby Prep Season” that offer points – 10 to first, 4 to second, 2 to third and 1 to fourth – that will ultimately determine the 20 participants for “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports” at Churchill Downs on Saturday, May 3, 2014. With the close of betting coming prior to the running of those important early Kentucky Derby preps, the pool offers what will truly be a “future wager” that assures the best possible odds on horses competing in those races.

 

The Kentucky Derby Future Wager, launched by Churchill Downs in 1999, is an innovative pari-mutuel wager that allows racing fans the opportunity to wager on potential Derby contenders well in advance of the race at odds that could be significantly more attractive than those available on the day the classic race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds is run.

 

For example, Orb paid $12.80 to win on race day of the 2013 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands, but returned $26.20 in Pool 2 and $29.60 for a $2 bet in Pool 3 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager.

 

With the mutuel field, or “All Others,” expected to attract overwhelming fan support in this week’s four-day betting pool, very attractive odds could be available on highly-regarded Derby contenders.

 

The mutuel field features all foals of 2011 other than the 23 individual Thoroughbreds in the pool, regardless of whether those horses have been nominated to the Kentucky Derby and the Triple Crown.

 

Both wagers offer $2-minimum win betting and exacta wagering, which is available in the form of $2 minimum straight exacta bets or $1-minimum exacta boxes and part-wheels. No scratches or betting refunds are permitted in either wager, but wagering on a Derby or Oaks Future Wager horse will be suspended immediately if Churchill Downs determines that injury, illness or other circumstance revealed during a pool would prevent a horse from competing in their respective race.

 

All winning payouts are determined by the odds in place at the end of each respective betting pool.

 

More than $1.4 million was wagered on the Kentucky Derby Future Wager in 2012 and 2013, respectively – the highest totals since 2006 when the wager was offered in a three-pool, four-day format.

 

The dates for the four Kentucky Derby Future Wager pools leading up to Derby 140 are:

KDFW Pool 1: Wednesday, Nov. 27-Saturday, Nov. 30 (4 days)

KDFW Pool 2: Thursday, Feb. 6-Saturday, Feb. 8 (3 days)

KDFW Pool 3: Thursday, Feb. 27-Saturday, March 1 (3 days)

KDFW Pool 4: Thursday, March 27-Saturday, March 29 (3 days)

 

The date for the only Kentucky Oaks Future Wager pool is:

KOFW Pool 1: Thursday, Feb. 27-Saturday, March 1 (3 days)

 

Wagering on the Kentucky Derby and Oaks Future Wager will be offered at Churchill Downs and racetracks throughout North America; via TwinSpires.com, the official online wagering site of the Kentucky Derby and Churchill Downs Incorporated; other advance deposit wagering sites; and simulcast centers and off-track wagering sites.

 

Wagering interests for the Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool were selected by a panel consisting of veteran turf writer Gary West; Daily Racing Form West Coast Correspondent and HRTV analyst Brad Free, Brisnet Director of Marketing Ed DeRosa, and Churchill Downs’ John Asher.