Kentucky Derby Future Wager: Forte is late 5-2 favorite
As expected, Forte was the heavy favorite going into the final day of pari-mutuel betting in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager.
The Eclipse Award winner who will be the top choice Saturday evening in the Florida Derby (G1) carried 5-2 win odds in pool 6 of the KDFW, which closes at 6 p.m. EDT. That will be 40 minutes before the $1 million race at Gulfstream Park.
UAE Derby (G2) winner Derma Sotogake, who will try to become the first horse from Japan to win America’s biggest race, was the second choice in the KDFW at 10-1. He had $658 more bet on him than Louisiana Derby (G2) victor Kingsbarns, who also was 10-1 headed into Saturday.
Tapit Trice, Forte’s stablemate who won the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) for trainer Todd Pletcher, was the fourth choice at 11-1.
Reincarnate, the morning-line favorite for the $1.25 million Arkansas Derby (G1), was 21-1 to win May 6 at Churchill Downs. His race Saturday will come nearly two hours after KDFW betting is completed.
There were $138,360 bet into the win pool by 11:50 p.m. EDT on Friday, according to the Kentucky Derby website. There were $51,073 in the exacta pool, where a Forte-Derma Sotogake result was the favorite at 34-1.
This is the second year Churchill Downs, which runs the KDFW, established what amounts to a Saturday post time for the final pool. One reason given was to offer the opportunity for more value – and more risk – on horses who had yet to run in the two major preps Saturday.
Here is a comparison of the Las Vegas futures Friday night at Caesars Sportsbook, Circa Sports and the Westgate SuperBook with the Churchill Downs odds for the pari-mutuel KDFW, showing best prices in bold type:
| Kentucky Derby 2023 | Caesars | Circa | WG | KDFW |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forte | 3-1 | 3-1 | 3-1 | 5-2 |
| Tapit Trice | 8-1 | 6-1 | 7-1 | 11-1 |
| Kingsbarns | 14-1 | 10-1 | 14-1 | 10-1 |
| Practical Move | 10-1 | 10-1 | 14-1 | 18-1 |
| Derma Sotogake | 25-1 | 25-1 | 16-1 | 10-1 |
| Reincarnate | 18-1 | 14-1 | 30-1 | 21-1 |
| Two Phil’s | 30-1 | 20-1 | 20-1 | 22-1 |
| Red Route One | 20-1 | 35-1 | 30-1 | 23-1 |
| Hit Show | 30-1 | 35-1 | 30-1 | 37-1 |
| Awesome Strong | 40-1 | |||
| Disarm | 38-1 | 40-1 | 30-1 | 28-1 |
| Angel of Empire | 40-1 | 45-1 | 30-1 | 36-1 |
| Confidence Game | 22-1 | 45-1 | 30-1 | 25-1 |
| Skinner | 38-1 | 45-1 | 50-1 | 42-1 |
| National Treasure | 14-1 | 40-1 | 30-1 | 52-1 |
| Geaux Rocket Ride | 22-1 | 17-1 | 30-1 | 53-1 |
| Instant Coffee | 50-1 | 55-1 | 25-1 | 55-1 |
| Rocket Can | 32-1 | 55-1 | 30-1 | 51-1 |
| Verifying | 22-1 | 45-1 | 40-1 | 65-1 |
| Major Dude | 65-1 | 65-1 | 30-1 | |
| Blazing Sevens | 35-1 | 75-1 | 50-1 | 33-1 |
| Fort Bragg | 90-1 | 75-1 | 80-1 | 85-1 |
| Dreamlike | 50-1 | 99-1 | ||
| I Don’t Get It | 99-1 | |||
| Raise Cain | 50-1 | 25-1 | 40-1 | 99-1 |
| Slip Mahoney | 85-1 | 75-1 | 80-1 | 99-1 |
| Sun Thunder | 75-1 | 60-1 | 99-1 | |
| Continuar | 100-1 | 100-1 | 43-1 | |
| Cyclone Mischief | 50-1 | 100-1 | 80-1 | 99-1 |
| Dura Erede | 100-1 | 80-1 | ||
| Jace’s Road | 50-1 | 80-1 | 100-1 | 99-1 |
| Mage | 75-1 | 100-1 | 80-1 | 50-1 |
| Mr. Peeks | 100-1 | |||
| Shopper’s Revenge | 100-1 | |||
| Victory Formation | 50-1 | 100-1 | 60-1 | |
| Classic Car Wash | 125-1 | 125-1 | 50-1 | 99-1 |
| Classic Legacy | 90-1 | 125-1 | 100-1 | |
| Gun Pilot | 135-1 | |||
| Mo Strike | 135-1 | |||
| Two Eagles River | 135-1 | 50-1 | 100-1 | 22-1 |
| Airtime | 150-1 | 150-1 | ||
| Bishops Bay | 100-1 | 150-1 | ||
| Classic Catch | 150-1 | 150-1 | ||
| Congruent | 150-1 | 125-1 | ||
| Gulfport | 150-1 | |||
| Mandarin Hero | 150-1 | 60-1 | 99-1 | |
| Wild On Ice (g) | 150-1 | 150-1 | 80-1 | 99-1 |
| Bourbon Bash | 175-1 | 99-1 | ||
| Crupi | 100-1 | 175-1 | ||
| Jungfrau | 150-1 | 175-1 | ||
| Scoobie Quando | 175-1 | 80-1 | ||
| Carmel Road | 200-1 | |||
| Dubyuhnell | 75-1 | 75-1 | 200-1 | 99-1 |
| Funtastic Again | 150-1 | 200-1 | ||
| Harlocap | 125-1 | 200-1 | ||
| King Russell | 200-1 | |||
| Mr. Ripple | 135-1 | 125-1 | 200-1 | |
| Kangaroo Court (g) | 135-1 | 225-1 | 200-1 | |
| Mendelssohns March | 225-1 | 99-1 | ||
| Arabian Lion | 90-1 | 250-1 | ||
| Banishing | 50-1 | 250-1 | ||
| Giant Mischief | 250-1 | 60-1 | ||
| Interlock Empire | 250-1 | |||
| Lugan Knight | 250-1 | |||
| Tapit Shoes | 125-1 | 250-1 | 100-1 | |
| Wadsworth (g) | 250-1 | |||
| Arctic Arrogance | 150-1 | 275-1 | 100-1 | 99-1 |
| General Banker | 150-1 | 275-1 | 200-1 | |
| Shadow Dragon | 275-1 | 99-1 | ||
| Bromley | 200-1 | 300-1 | ||
| Event Detail | 300-1 | |||
| Fort Warren | 125-1 | 275-1 | 300-1 | |
| General Jim | 300-1 | |||
| Genius Jimmy | 300-1 | |||
| Hayes Strike | 300-1 | 99-1 | ||
| Lord Miles | 175-1 | 300-1 | ||
| Prairie Hawk | 300-1 | 200-1 | ||
| *All other 3-year-olds | 25-1 | |||
| (g) gelding | ||||
| *KDFW only |