Field pegged at 7-5 for Pool 2 of Kentucky Derby Future Wager

The mutuel field, the 24th or “all others” option, has been listed as the 7-5 morning-line favorite for the second of five pools in the 2022 Kentucky Derby Future Wager.

Pool 2 opens Friday at noon Eastern and runs through Sunday at 6 p.m.

As with Pool 1, which was held Nov. 26-29, there are no Bob Baffert trainees listed as separate wagering interests in Pool 2. Baffert has been banned by Churchill Downs from running horses in the Derby the next two years, a policy stemming from his 2021 winner, Medina Spirit, having tested positive for a medication overage. This means the Baffert-trained Corniche, winner of the Nov. 5 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, again is lumped into the field for Pool 2, as are several of his other top 3-year-olds such as Messier, Pinehurst, and Rockefeller.

There are nine new names for Pool 2: Chasing Time, Courvoisier, Dash Attack, Emmanuel, High Oak, Make It Big, Simplification, Slow Down Andy, and White Abarrio.

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After the field, the morning-line favorites for Pool 2 are Smile Happy (8-1), Jack Christopher (10-1), Mo Donegal (12-1), and Zandon (12-1), none of whom will race this weekend. The only Derby points qualifier this weekend is the Lecomte on Saturday at Fair Grounds, a race that drew three separate Pool 2 interests – Epicenter, Pappacap, and Trafalgar.

Given that odds are locked in only when the pool closes, it typically behooves fans to wait until all preps are run before bets are made.

Gone from Pool 1 are Ben Diesel, Double Thunder, Forced Ranking, Graphic Detail, Gunite, Howling Time, Osbourne, and Oviatt Class. Also, the No. 23 option of “any filly” is not offered in Pool 2.

In Pool 1, the field closed at 3-5, followed by Smile Happy (8-1) and Jack Christopher (10-1), with no other single entry lower than 21-1. Pool 1 drew a combined handle of $326,448. The annual Derby Sires futures also were held concurrent with Pool 1.

Last year in Pool 2, the field closed as the 9-5 favorite, followed by Life Is Good (7-1) and Essential Quality (8-1). Medina Spirit was 24-1 in Pool 2. Total handle was $322,035.

The three subsequent 2022 Derby pools will be held as follows: Pool 3, Feb. 11-13; Pool 4, March 11-13; and Pool 5, March 31-April 2. A Kentucky Oaks futures pool will coincide with Pool 4.

Win and exacta wagering are available at a $2 minimum ($1 boxes or part-wheels are permitted).

In the case of field horses finishing first and second, the highest-placed horse counts as the bottom half of the exacta.

Real-time odds and will-pays are available through various modes, including on television monitors at tracks and wagering outlets.

The 148th Derby will be run May 7.