Barnes top individual horse in second pool of Kentucky Derby Future Wager

Barnes, a first-out winner from the barn of Triple Crown titan Bob Baffert, was made the 13-1 individual favorite in the second Kentucky Derby pool, behind the perennial top choice in the early pools, the field entry, which closed at 9-5.

Barnes, a $3.2 million 2-year-old purchase, won his debut at Churchill Downs on Nov. 27 by a head. It was the first win by a Baffert-trained horse at Churchill since he was banned by the track shortly after the 2021 Kentucky Derby. The ban was lifted this summer. Baffert has won the Derby a record six times.

Behind Barnes in the future betting was East Avenue (15-1), Citizen Bull (16-1), Sovereignty (19-1), and Chancer McPatrick and Gaming (both 21-1).

There were 38 individual interests in the pool, which drew $230,825 in win bets and $58,515 in exacta bets, a 39.9 percent increase over the total pool for the second future bet last year, according to Churchill. In addition to the favored field entry of “all other colts and geldings,” the pool had an entry of “all fillies,” which closed at 69-1.

The pool opened on Thursday and closed on Sunday. Churchill ran a Derby points race on Saturday, the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, which was won by First Resort, a Godolphin homebred. First Resort and the second-place finisher, Jonathan’s Way, both closed at 38-1 in the future pool.

Churchill also offered its only Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager over the weekend, with “all others” closing as the 5-1 favorite. Into Mischief was the lowest-priced individual sire, at 6-1.

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