At Conclusion Of Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 3
Churchill Downs Press Release
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With the Kentucky Derby less than 15 weeks away, the pari-mutuel field of “All Other Colts and Geldings from the 2021 Foal Crop” closed as the 2-1 favorite in Pool 3 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW) and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (GI) winner Fierceness was the 8-1 second choice.
Repole Stable’s Fierceness, trained by two-time Kentucky Derby winner Todd Pletcher, is expected to be crowned last year’s Champion 2-Year-Old Male at Thursday night’s Eclipse Awards, and is on target to make his 3-year-old debut in the $250,000 Holy Bull (Grade III) over 1 1/16 miles on Feb. 3 at Gulfstream Park.
Other horses who attracted mild interest from bettors: Remsen (GII) runner-up Sierra Leone (13-1); Dornoch (15-1), the Remsen winner and full brother to 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage; Breeders’ Cup Juvenile third Locked (18-1); recent Gulfstream Park maiden winner Conquest Warrior (18-1); and Gun Runner and Lecomte (GIII) winner Track Phantom (18-1).
Total handle for the Jan. 19-21 KDFW pool – the third of six scheduled wagering pools in advance of the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (GI) on Saturday, May 4 – was $334,472 ($254,977 in the Win pool and $79,495 in Exactas, a 7% increase from last year’s $312,906 ($244,700 in the Win pool and $68,207 in Exactas).
A total of $809,662 has been bet on Derby future wagers thus far compared to $623,660 at this stage last year – a 30% surge.
Inaugurated in 1999, the Kentucky Derby Future Wager has been offered for a 26thconsecutive year.
Other Future Wager dates are set for Feb. 16-18 (Pool 4); March 15-17 (Pool 5); April 4-6 (Pool 6). The lone Kentucky Oaks Future Wager will coincide with Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 5.
Visit www.KentuckyDerby.com/FutureWager for more information.
