Field, Fierceness open as top choices in Kentucky Derby future wager pool

The first Kentucky Derby future wager pool of 2024 will be held this weekend, with little on the schedule to influence the odds of the 39 individual betting interests.

As is customary for the first future bet of the year, the heavy morning-line favorite, at 7-5, is the “all others” entry, which gives a bettor all of the horses from the foal crop of 2021 that are not listed as individual horses. That’s roughly 17,800 horses, if you want to do the math.

Fierceness, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner and likely 2-year-old champion, is listed as the second choice at 8-1, while Locked, winner of last year’s Breeders’ Futurity, is next at 15-1. Both horses aren’t expected to make their first starts until February.

Twenty-one of the individual horses were not listed as individual entries in the previous pool, held Nov. 23-26. Fierceness, the current points leader for the Derby, was the favored individual interest in both Derby future pools held last year.

Horses currently trained by Bob Baffert, including American Pharoah winner Muth, are not listed individually, as the trainer remains banned from the 2024 Derby. Any horses trained by Baffert also are ineligible to earn qualifying points to the Derby.

Only one race, the Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds on Saturday, will award any qualifying points to the Derby this weekend. The favorite in that race, Track Phantom, is listed at 60-1 on the morning line for the Derby future pool. The second choice, Nash, is listed at 30-1, and the third choice, Ethan Energy, at 60-1.

The Derby pool will open noon Eastern on Friday and close at 6 p.m. Sunday. The minimum bet is $2, with win and exacta betting.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.