San Felipe fair odds: Nysos is an imposing force

Fans of Nysos looking to bet the Bob Baffert-trained runner in the current Preakness Stakes Future Wager should be happy Santa Anita Park moved the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes to Sunday.

That is because the pool closes 8 p.m. EST on Saturday, and if Nysos wins the San Felipe as my 1-5 fair odds suggest he should, then his Preakness price is sure to suffer.

Instead, bettors will have results of the Fountain of Youth (G2) and Gotham Stakes (G3) fresh on their minds, and even a single point in odds could be meaningful on a horse such as Nysos.

As for this race, it is hard to envision a scenario in which Nysos loses that does not involve an odd occurrence. It's a compact field, so trouble seems unlikely, and he is faster at every point of call than any other horse in the race at any point in their races.

That is not say that this will be a gate-to-wire victory, but it could be if jockey Flavian Prat wants it to be.

So, the question is, how low does Nysos go, and is it so low that there is some attraction to betting on any of the others? I'd need 2-5 to bet on Nysos, and that is not happening. If he is 1-20 (e.g. would pay $2.10 to win) then maybe no. 5 Imagination becomes interesting from a perspective that he figures to be on front end, and if Nysos doesn't catch him, who else would?

If Imagination underneath Nysos is not the favored exacta payout, then that would be my play in this race. Otherwise, I expect it to be just a watch for me.