See how short Vegas odds are for top Kentucky Derby hopes

­Maybe there will be more value next weekend in the pari-mutuel Kentucky Derby Future Wager than Las Vegas is offering with fixed odds for the favorites to win the roses.

Talk about unbackable. Who would bet Essential Quality at 6-1 two months before the Derby? That is the best futures price in Nevada, available at Circa Sports, after he won Saturday’s rainy renewal of the Southwest Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn Park.

After shortening Essential Quality even further to 4-1, William Hill’s Joe Asher said it was not a case of late action on him. “The price was low already,” he said.

[RELATED – First Look: 3 Derby preps lead 12 graded stakes this weekend]

Fountain of Youth (G2) winner Greatest Honour was cut from 11-1 at Circa to a best price of 7-1, the same as this week’s likely San Felipe Stakes (G2) favorite Life Is Good.

“We took some bets on Greatest Honour before the race,” Circa’s Paul Zilm said. “Based on that action and what he’s done the last two races, I moved him aggressively afterward.”

As is normal for this time of year, the list of Derby choices dwindled more. While Las Vegas bookmakers dropped a collective 53 horses, they added five. Two of those — an addition and a subtraction — were Notable Exception (450-1). His ninth-place finish Friday in the John Battaglia Memorial at Turfway Park had him coming and going faster than the notorious flop Moose Murders did 38 years ago on Broadway.

Four newly listed horses are still available.

Soup and Sandwich (70-1 Circa, 100-1 William Hill). He has beaten a collective seven rivals in his two races. Small fields, yes. But this Into Mischief colt bred and owned by Campbell’s Soup heiress Charlotte Weber attracted some wise-guy bets with his two-turn allowance victory over a pair of past winners Wednesday at Tampa Bay Downs. Just a pair. Mark Casse plans to send Soup and Sandwich against Greatest Honour in the Florida Derby (G1). It is a safe bet there will be a lot more horses in that field.

Hush of a Storm (125-1 Circa). The Battaglia will not be mistaken for a top-level Derby prep. But 10 qualifying points are 10 qualifying points, and this twice-sold $75,000 Creative Cause colt earned them Friday as a 6-1 third choice. The Battaglia victory made him 3-for-3 at Turfway Park, where trainer William Morey is expected to run him March 20 in the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3). Since that race is now a 100-40-20-10 qualifier, it means a top-two or top-three finish should put Hush of a Storm in the Derby. He would be a long shot. But still a shot.

Helium (125-1 William Hill). Six straight weeks of workouts in Florida have put this $55,000 Ironicus colt back on the Derby radar for Casse. Helium was 2-for-2 in sprints last year at Woodbine, but he has yet to make his 3-year-old debut. That is expected to happen Saturday in the Tampa Bay Derby (G2), a 50-20-10-5 points race. The winner is virtually assured of a place in the Kentucky Derby.

La Pérouse (125-1 William Hill). Since his 15th-place finish in a turf debut, this Pelusa colt based in Japan has been dominant on the dirt. Fast dirt. Good dirt. Sloppy dirt. He has won on them all. The only failure since that inauspicious first start was a narrow defeat in the mud. After three triumphs as a 2-year-old, he scored last Sunday in his first race of 2021. Despite a poor start with jockey Christophe Lemaire, he still emerged as a 1 1/2-length winner in the one-mile Hyacinth Stakes, putting him in the lead for Japan’s lone automatic berth in the Derby. A victory March 28 in the 1 1/8-mile Fukuryu Stakes would make La Pérouse eligible to race May 1 at Churchill Downs.

Here are the 150 horses still showing at Circa Sports and William Hill Nevada, with their Kentucky Derby odds:

Circa   WH

250-1          Affable

110-1          Alain Barows

350-1          Ambivalent

200-1          American Admiral

150-1          Amount

200-1          Arabian Prince

250-1          Ascot Storm

150-1          Barraza

300-1          Beep Beep

           75-1 Bezos

300-1          Big Daddy Dave

300-1          Big Thorn

350-1 175-1 Boca Boy

200-1          Bracken

         200-1 Breeze On By

300-1          Broadway

200-1  45-1 Brooklyn Strong

         250-1 By George

  16-1  15-1 Caddo River

300-1          Cajun Commander

  70-1  30-1 Candy Man Rocket

  90-1  65-1 Capo Kane

200-1          Carillo

250-1 200-1 Cazadero

  80-1          Classier

  30-1  50-1 Collaborate

  16-1  10-1 Concert Tour

300-1          Cousin Larry

100-1          Cowan

  75-1          Crowded Trade

150-1          Democracy

300-1          Democrat

250-1 200-1 Donegal Bay

         125-1 Drain the Clock

250-1          Dr. Schivel

350-1          Dreamer’s Disease

  20-1  20-1 Dream Shake

150-1          Du Jour

  75-1          Dynamic One

400-1 120-1 Eagle Orb

    6-1    4-1 Essential Quality

         200-1 Ethical Judgement

200-1 150-1 Fenway

300-1          Find New Roads

125-1          Fire At Will

300-1 225-1 Founder

200-1          Found My Ball

  65-1   50-1 Freedom Fighter

300-1 250-1 Gagetown

350-1          Garoppolo

100-1 150-1 Get Her Number

  75-1          Ghazaaly

350-1          Golden Pal

    7-1    5-1 Greatest Honour

         125-1 Helium

350-1          Herd Immunity

150-1 100-1 Hidden Stash

  35-1  20-1 Highly Motivated

350-1          Hold the Salsa

  25-1  30-1 Hot Rod Charlie

  75-1  75-1 Hozier

350-1          Huntsinger

125-1          Hush of a Storm

         225-1 Hyperfocus

200-1  60-1 Jackie’s Warrior

200-1          Jaxon Traveler

250-1          Jirafales

350-1          Kahuna Magic

  35-1  28-1 Keepmeinmind

  60-1  35-1 Known Agenda

200-1  65-1 Lamutanaatty

         125-1 La Perouse

           75-1 Lemon Pop

    7-1    9-2 Life Is Good

         250-1 Likeable

175-1          Like the King

350-1          Lord Of War

200-1          Lucky Law

  22-1  16-1 Mandaloun

250-1          Manor House

300-1          Martini Blu

  45-1  16-1 Medina Spirit

  60-1  45-1 Midnight Bourbon

110-1          Mouheeb

175-1          Mr. Impossible

200-1          Never Surprised

250-1 225-1 Next

         100-1 Nicky the Vest

250-1          No Cents

175-1 100-1 Nova Rags

125-1          O Besos

150-1  75-1 Olympiad

400-1          Outasite

200-1 100-1 Overtook

  60-1          Papetu

300-1          Parnelli

300-1          Petruchio

300-1 250-1 Pickin’ Time

  90-1  50-1 Prate

  27-1  22-1 Prevalence

100-1          Prime Factor

         125-1 Promise Keeper

  45-1  45-1 Proxy

250-1 200-1 Real Talk

125-1          Rebel’s Romance

300-1          Red Flag

150-1          Reinvestment Risk

200-1          Restored Order

200-1 225-1 Return the Ring

400-1          Ricochet

  45-1  25-1 Risk Taking

300-1          Rock Sugar

  40-1          Rock Your World

         250-1 Roderick

  45-1  30-1 Roman Centurian

100-1  75-1 Rombauer

350-1          Royal Number

125-1 100-1 Run Classic

300-1          Runway Magic

200-1          Savile Row

250-1          Scarlet Fusion

250-1 225-1 Scarred

250-1          Shackqueenking

200-1 100-1 Sittin On Go

300-1          Slumber Party

200-1 150-1 Smiley Sobotka

  70-1 100-1 Soup and Sandwich

175-1          Speaker’s Corner

  50-1   50-1 Spielberg

200-1 200-1 Stage Raider

200-1 200-1 Starrininmydreams

300-1 225-1 Stayin’ Out Late

200-1 125-1 Super Stock

125-1 125-1 Swiftsure

225-1 200-1 Swill

  75-1 175-1 Tarantino

200-1          Team Merchants

         100-1 Ten For Ten

125-1 175-1 The Chosen Vron

  30-1  16-1 The Great One

300-1 150-1 Therideofalifetime

200-1 290-1 Twilight Blue

         250-1 Ultimate Badger

         225-1 Upstriker

200-1          Vittorio

250-1          What’s Up Surfer

150-1          Whiskey Double

300-1          Willy Boi

250-1 200-1 Wipe the Slate

250-1          Work Out