Kentucky Derby Future Wager: Epicenter 9-2 favorite in Pool 5

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Epicenter closed as a lukewarm favorite late Saturday afternoon in the fifth and final pool in the 2022 Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which Churchill Downs offered with a new wrinkle.

Pool 5 closed at 4:30 p.m. Eastern, before any of the three Derby preps were run, those being the Wood Memorial, Blue Grass Stakes, and Santa Anita Derby. A Friday-to-Sunday window had been the norm since Churchill first began offering parimutuel futures in 1999, with bettors usually being allowed to take into consideration the prep-race results prior to final odds being locked in. The intent with this latest pool was to make it more of a speculative wager, or a true futures bet.

Nine of the 23 individually listed betting interests in Pool 5 were entered in one of those three Saturday preps.

:: KENTUCKY DERBY 2022: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more

Epicenter closed at 9-2, followed by Messier (6-1), Smile Happy (9-1), Forbidden Kingdom (9-1), White Abarrio (12-1), Morello (15-1), and Charge It (16-1). The lowest $2 exacta will pay was Messier over Epicenter (11-7), worth $72.20.

Win handle was $320,064 and exacta handle was $124,274, for combined handle of $444,338.

Last year in Pool 5, conducted with a customary Friday-to-Sunday window, combined handle was $369,695.

The mutuel field, the 24th or “all others” option, was favored in each of the first four pools held Nov. 26-29, Jan. 21-23, Feb. 11-13, and March 11-13. The field closed at 18-1 in Pool 5, and it’s worth noting that Taiba, winner of the Santa Anita Derby, is part of the Pool 5 field.

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

Pool 5 was originally scheduled to run the previous week (March 31 to April 2), but Churchill officials chose to delay it by one week.

The 148th Derby is set for May 7.

Kentucky Derby Futures Pool 5 odds
(No., Horse, Trainer, P1, P2, P3, P4, P5)

1. Barber Road, J. Ortiz, 3-5(f), 9-5(f), 63-1, 39-1, 28-1
2. Charge It, T. Pletcher, 3-5(f), 9-5(f), 2-1(f), 17-1, 16-1
3. Crown Pride, K. Shintani, 3-5(f), 9-5(f), 2-1(f), 4-1(f), 24-1
4. Cyberknife, B. Cox, 3-5(f), 9-5(f), 2-1(f), 36-1, 17-1
5. Early Voting, C. Brown, 3-5(f), 9-5(f), 19-1, 19-1, 29-1
6. Emmanuel, T. Pletcher, 3-5(f), 17-1, 15-1, 33-1, 35-1
7. Epicenter, S. Asmussen, 52-1, 24-1, 24-1, 13-1, 9-2
8. Ethereal Road, D. Lukas, 3-5(f), 9-5(f), 2-1(f), 32-1, 40-1
9. Forbidden Kingdom, R. Mandella, 3-5(f), 9-5(f), 18-1, 7-1, 9-1
10. In Due Time, K. Breen, 3-5(f), 9-5(f), 37-1, 48-1, 95-1
11. Messier, T. Yakteen, 3-5(f), 9-5(f), 2-1(f), 4-1(f), 6-1
12. Mo Donegal, T. Pletcher, 37-1, 23-1, 14-1, 24-1, 24-1
13. Morello, S. Asmussen, 3-5(f), 9-5(f), 2-1(f), 17-1, 15-1
14. Pioneer of Medina, 3-5(f), 9-5(f), 2-1(f), 71-1, 123-1
15. Simplification, A. Sano, 3-5(f), 43-1, 43-1, 19-1, 32-1
16. Slow Down Andy, D. O’Neill, 3-5(f), 20-1, 23-1, 4-1(f), 50-1
17. Smile Happy, K. McPeek, 8-1, 8-1, 8-1, 6-1, 9-1
18. Summer Is Tomorrow, B. Seemar, 3-5(f), 9-5(f), 2-1(f), 4-1(f), 66-1
19. Tawny Port, B. Cox, 3-5(f), 9-5(f), 2-1(f), 4-1(f), 114-1
20. Tiz the Bomb, K. McPeek, 24-1, 10-1, 2-1(f), 4-1(f), 22-1
21. White Abarrio, S. Joseph, 3-5(f), 171-1, 18-1, 22-1, 12-1
22. Zandon, C. Brown, 56-1, 25-1, 21-1, 22-1, 18-1
23. Zozos, B. Cox, 3-5(f), 9-5(f), 2-1(f), 30-1, 40-1
24. Field (all others), n/a, 3-5, 9-5, 2-1, 4-1, 18-1

(f) – denotes P1/P2/P3/P4 field horse.

Win pool, $320,064
Exacta pool, $124,274
Total handle, $444,338