LEXINGTON, Ky. – Jim McIngvale, the Houston furniture-store owner who has often made large bets as hedges on promotions at his stores, will bet “at least” $2 million to win on the Kentucky Derby favorite this year, McIngvale confirmed on Tuesday. McIngvale, who is popularly known as “Mattress Mac,” is currently planning to make the bet on Essential Quality, who was installed as the 2-1 morning-line Derby favorite after drawing post 14 on Tuesday. However, because the bet is being placed as a hedge on a mattress promotion tied to the Derby “favorite,” the bet could be placed on whatever horse emerges as the favorite in the days ahead. “We made the promotion on the Derby favorite [rather than a single horse] because the favorite has won six out of the last eight years,” McIngvale said on Tuesday. “So we thought that was best for the customers.” McIngvale’s Gallery Furniture stores are currently promising customers who buy a mattress for $3,000 or more a complete refund on the purchase price, up to $5,000, if the favorite wins the Derby “on the first Saturday of May.” The promotion will also give those same customers a 150-percent store credit, up to $7,500, if they choose to decline the mattress refund, McIngvale said. The size of the bet will be determined by the total amount of liability the company is facing from its mattress sales in the days leading up to the Derby, McIngvale said. That liability is currently expected to be $2 million, but it could go higher. McIngvale has employed similar strategies in the past, including as recently as earlier this year, when he placed a $3.2 million bet on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win the Super Bowl. He cashed the bet, but it only covered the store’s promotional liability, so it was a wash. But the bets have generated mountains of publicity for McIngvale and his stores. He’s frequently been shadowed at sporting events by staff from the Bleacher Report, a sports website, as will be the case on Saturday when he attends the Derby. Even with a win pool expected to total $35 million or more, a $2 million win bet will obviously make a significant impact on a horse’s odds, but McIngvale said he does not know when the bet will be placed in the pools. He said he has been working with Churchill officials and “10 different advisors” on the timing, but he also said that he would place the bet well in advance of post time. “That’s the $64,000 question,” McIngvale said. “I’m talking to 10 different advisors and getting 10 different answers. But it’s not going to be at the last minute. I want people to be able to have time to react” to the bet’s impact on not just Essential Quality, but the other horses in the race as well. McIngvale said the Derby bet would be “by far” the largest bet he has ever placed on a horse race. :: DRF's Kentucky Derby Headquarters: Contenders, latest news, past performances, analysis, and more “Maybe the biggest bet before was something around $100,000,” said McIngvale, whose best horse so far has been 2015 Sprint Champion Runhappy. “Maybe.” McIngvale has also partnered with Churchill this year in bringing 300 “representatives’ of the foster-care system in Kentucky to this year’s Derby, working with Churchill’s non-profit partners in the sector, Maryhurst and Boys & Girls Haven, both of which provide foster-care services in the Louisville area. The representatives will include “foster parents, alumni, and social-service workers,” Churchill said. “I couldn’t be happier to help provide them with the opportunity to enjoy this year’s Kentucky Derby,” McIngvale said. He noted that his daughter, Laura McIngvale Brown, and her husband, Phil Brown, recently adopted a child, Brodie, that they had previously fostered. “I have seen first-hand the importance of foster care, and Brodie has been a true joy in my life,” McIngvale said.