Kentucky Derby prospects: 28 in futures pools are about to race
Before 25 potential Kentucky Derby 2023 contenders race Saturday, Sunday and Monday, three others who are listed in the futures market were entered for allowance starts Thursday and Friday.
American Blaze (7-2 morning line), a 17-length winner on debut but winless since, is among the seven 3-year-olds in a six-furlong, $74,000 sprint Thursday at Turfway Park.
Since his eye-popping first start July 30 at Ellis Park, the American Freedom colt trained by Ben Colebrook has lost his last three races by a combined 41 3/4 lengths. American Blaze was 350-1 on Wednesday in the Derby futures at Circa Sports and 200-1 at Caesars Sportsbook. His race Thursday is the third on the Turfway card, and it was posted for 6:55 p.m. EST.
Joking Way (8-5) and Wild Mule (5-2) were the top two morning-line choices in their eight-horse race Friday at Oaklawn. The six-furlong dash with a $104,000 purse was written as the sixth race at 3:55 p.m. EST.
After breaking his maiden for trainer Steve Asmussen on his second try with a win in the slop at Churchill Downs, Joking Way finished fourth last out covering the same six furlongs in a $100,000 allowance race Nov. 26. A $270,000 Practical Joke colt owned by Ron Winchell, he is 250-1 in the futures at Circa. Asmussen has Ricardo Santana Jr. riding Joking Way on Friday.
Wild Mule has drifted to 300-1 at Circa since he faded to a seventh-place finish last month in the muddy running of the Advent Stakes at Oaklawn. Trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, the Army Mule colt won his first two races, both last summer at Monmouth Park. Rafael Bejarano will ride Wild Mule on Friday.
Of the horses entered in upcoming races, these were the ones listed either in pool 3 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager conducted by Churchill Downs, including their morning-line odds, or in current Nevada futures, showing their live odds Wednesday night at Caesars Sportsbook and Circa Sports:
| Kentucky Derby | KDFW | Caesars | Circa | Next race, times EST |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Blaze | 200-1 | 350-1 | Thu., alw OC, 3rd at TP, 6:55 p.m. | |
| Joking Way | 250-1 | Fri., alw OC, 6th at OP, 3:55 p.m. | ||
| Wild Mule | 300-1 | Fri., alw OC, 6th at OP, 3:55 p.m. | ||
| Run Cory Run | 250-1 | Sat., MSW, 4th at TAM, 2:22 p.m. | ||
| Coffeewithchris | 350-1 | Sat., Spectacular Bid, 8th at LRL, 3:58 p.m. | ||
| Heldish | 300-1 | Sat., Spectacular Bid, 8th at LRL, 3:58 p.m. | ||
| Prince of Jericho | 175-1 | 250-1 | Sat., Spectacular Bid, 8th at LRL, 3:58 p.m. | |
| Crupi | 45-1 | Sat., MSW, 9th at AQU, 4:16 p.m. | ||
| Yorkshire Prince | 300-1 | Sat., MSW, 9th at AQU, 4:16 p.m. | ||
| This Run's for You | 175-1 | 350-1 | Sat., alw OC, 8th at TAM, 4:21 p.m. | |
| Banishing | 50-1 | 45-1 | 55-1 | Sat., alw OC, 9th at FG, 5 p.m. |
| Determinedly | 110-1 | 100-1 | Sat., alw OC, 9th at FG, 5 p.m. | |
| Invulnerable | 300-1 | Sat., alw OC, 9th at FG, 5 p.m. | ||
| Silver Heist | 135-1 | 150-1 | Sat., alw OC, 9th at FG, 5 p.m. | |
| Tapit Shoes | 50-1 | 50-1 | 45-1 | Sat., alw OC, 9th at FG, 5 p.m. |
| Tapit's Conquest | 99-1 | 75-1 | 135-1 | Sat., alw OC, 9th, or Lecomte, 14th |
| Bromley | 125-1 | 300-1 | Sat., Lecomte (G3), 14th at FG, 7:30 p.m. | |
| Confidence Game | 99-1 | 75-1 | 125-1 | Sat., Lecomte (G3), 14th at FG, 7:30 p.m. |
| Denington | 225-1 | Sat., Lecomte (G3), 14th at FG, 7:30 p.m. | ||
| Echo Again | 80-1 | 30-1 | 42-1 | Sat., Lecomte (G3), 14th at FG, 7:30 p.m. |
| Instant Coffee | 40-1 | 50-1 | 30-1 | Sat., Lecomte (G3), 14th at FG, 7:30 p.m. |
| Two Phil's | 80-1 | 100-1 | 150-1 | Sat., Lecomte (G3), 14th at FG, 7:30 p.m. |
| Funtastic Again | 350-1 | Sat., Leonatus, 6th at TP, 8:25 p.m. | ||
| Hayes Strike | 250-1 | Sat., Leonatus, 6th at TP, 8:25 p.m. | ||
| Raise Cain | 150-1 | 275-1 | Sat., Leonatus, 6th at TP, 8:25 p.m. | |
| Carabinero | 350-1 | Sun., OC, 2nd at GP, 12:39 p.m. | ||
| Roll On Big Joe | 300-1 | Sun., mdn OC, 5th at GP, 2:08 p.m. | ||
| Daydreaming Boy | 350-1 | Mon., alw OC, 10th at PRX, 3:58 p.m. |