Kentucky Derby Future Wager: California Chrome is 5-1 favorite in Pool 4

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Talk about attrition. Since Churchill Downs offered its earliest-ever Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool in late November, only two horses have been listed in all four pools toward the 2014 Derby – Cairo Prince and Strong Mandate.

The lineup for the fourth and last 2014 futures pool was released by Churchill Downs on Monday, and the customary turnover from the previous pool is evident. Nine new names are on the roster for Pool 4, which opens Thursday at noon Eastern and closes Saturday at 6 p.m. Both the Florida Derby and Louisiana Derby are scheduled to be run Saturday after the pool closes.

The new horses for Pool 4 are Bobby’s Kitten, Chitu, Hoppertunity, In Trouble, Midnight Hawk, Ride On Curlin, Ring Weekend, Social Inclusion, and We Miss Artie.

Those horses displace the following from Pool 3, which was held Feb. 27 to March 1: Conquest Titan, Honor Code, Indianapolis, Kobe’s Back, Kristo, Noble Moon, Shared Belief, Tamarando, and Top Billing.

Besides Cairo Prince and Strong Mandate, only three other Pool 4 horses – Bobby’s Kitten, In Trouble, and Ride On Curlin – also were separate wagering interests when Pool 1 was offered Nov. 27-30. However, each was omitted from at least one pool in the interim.

Churchill spokesman John Asher, in noting the considerable turnover between pools, pointed out that 24 different horses have won the 25 Derby-points prep races run so far.

For Pool 4, Churchill linemaker Mike Battaglia has listed California Chrome as a 5-1 morning-line favorite, followed by Cairo Prince (6-1), the mutuel field (8-1), Chitu (10-1), Candy Boy (12-1), and Hoppertunity (12-1).

The mutuel field, the 24th or “all others” option, has closed as the favorite in all three prior pools: 4-5 in Pool 1, 3-2 in Pool 2, and 3-1 in Pool 3.

[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]

Handle has slumped noticeably for the Derby futures. Pool 3 handle was $334,326, down 18 percent from the corresponding period in 2013. Pool 2, held Feb. 6-8, was $380,249, down a whopping 39 percent from the corresponding period. And Pool 1, which had never been held in November, was $273,174, the fifth-lowest total since the futures were first offered in 1999. This is the first year Churchill has had four pools.

As with any parimutuel wager, odds are not locked in until the pool closes. There are no refunds.

Real-time odds and exacta will-pays are available on selected monitors at tracks and wagering outlets where futures are offered, as well as on kentuckyderby.com. Minimum wagers are $2 to win and $2 for exactas, although $1 boxes or part-wheels may be used to reach that $2 exacta minimum.

This is the 16th year for the future wager. Exacta wagering was added in 2009. In the case of field horses filling both exacta slots, the next-best finish by a separately listed horse will count toward the winning combination.

Asher heads the four-person committee that chooses the lineups, which also includes Brad Free of Daily Racing Form , Ed DeRosa of Brisnet, and freelance racing writer Gary West.

The Kentucky Oaks and Derby will be run May 2 and 3.

DRF will include the past performances of the 23 separate interests for Pool 4 in the Thursday print editions.

Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 4

Horse, morning-line odds, Pool 4 odds, Pool 3 odds, Pool 2 odds, Pool 1 odds
1. Albano, 50-1, 53-1, 3-2(f), 4-5(f)
2. Bayern, 15-1, 17-1, 3-2(f), 4-5(f)
3. Bobby’s Kitten, 30-1, 3-1(f), 46-1, 28-1
4. Cairo Prince, 6-1, 9-1, 13-1, 26-1
5. California Chrome, 5-1, 32-1, 30-1, 4-5(f)
6. Candy Boy, 12-1, 12-1, 32-1, 4-5(f)
7. Chitu, 10-1, 3-1(f), 3-2(f), 4-5(f)
8. Constitution, 30-1, 28-1, 3-2(f), 4-5(f)
9. General a Rod, 30-1, 36-1, 3-2(f), 4-5(f)
10. Hoppertunity, 12-1, 3-1(f), 3-2(f), 4-5(f)
11. In Trouble, 30-1, 3-1(f), 3-2(f), 53-1
12. Intense Holiday, 20-1, 22-1, 69-1, 4-5(f)
13. Midnight Hawk, 20-1, 3-1(f), 19-1, 4-5(f)
14. Ride On Curlin, 30-1, 3-1(f), 3-2(f), 57-1
15. Ring Weekend, 50-1, 3-1(f), 3-2(f), 4-5(f)
16. Samraat, 15-1, 30-1, 30-1, 4-5(f)
17. Social Inclusion, 20-1, 3-1(f), 3-2(f), 4-5(f)
18. Strong Mandate, 20-1, 18-1, 17-1, 27-1
19. Tapiture, 15-1, 17-1, 39-1, 4-5(f)
20. Uncle Sigh, 30-1, 42-1, 73-1, 4-5(f)
21. Vicar’s in Trouble, 50-1, 52-1, 42-1, 4-5(f)
22. We Miss Artie, 30-1, 3-1(f), 3-2(f), 4-5(f)
23. Wildcat Red, 30-1, 28-1, 3-2(f), 4-5(f)
24. Field (all others), 8-1, 3-1, 3-2, 4-5
(f) – denotes field entry