Baffert trainee Barnes the individual favorite in latest Kentucky Derby future pool

Barnes, the runaway winner of the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes, has been made the 10-1 individual favorite for the third installment of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, according to a list distributed by Churchill Downs on Tuesday.

Boasting a perfect 2-for-2 record, Barnes, who is trained by Bob Baffert and owned by Zedan Racing, is one of 39 individual horses listed for Pool 3 of the Future Wager. The overall morning-line favorite is the field entry, or “all other 3-year-olds,” at 5-2.

Pool 3 will open at noon Eastern on Friday and close at 6 p.m. on Sunday. Only one stakes race awarding points to potential Derby entrants will be run this weekend, and that’s the Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds in New Orleans.

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Four horses that have been entered for the Lecomte appear in the latest pool: Built, Disco Time, Innovator, and Magnitude. Fourteen horses were entered in the Grade 3, $250,000 Lecomte, which is the first race of the year that awards a total of 42 points (20 to the winner) toward Derby eligibility.

Last year for Pool 3, the favorite ended up being the field entry at 2-1. That entry included the eventual Derby winner, Mystik Dan, who had only a maiden win from four starts at the time the pool closed.

Baffert, who has officially won the Derby six times, has nine individual horses listed in this year’s Pool 3. Baffert has been unable to run in the Derby for the past three years because Churchill Downs banned the trainer due to a positive test for a regulated medication after his Medina Spirit crossed the wire first in the 2021 Derby. Medina Spirit was subsequently disqualified.

The minimum bet for the Future Wager is $2. Win and exacta betting will be offered.

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