Kentucky Derby Future Wager: McCraken, Gunnevera favorites for final pool

With a final round of major prep races still to come, the fourth and last pool in the 2017 Kentucky Derby Future Wager opens Friday at noon Eastern for the customary three-day run.

Two major preps, the Florida Derby and Louisiana Derby, are set for Saturday, so fans can wait until after those results are known to make their wagers. Odds don’t become locked in until the pool closes Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern.

Gunnevera and McCraken are listed as 6-1 co-favorites on the Pool 4 morning line, while the mutuel field, the 24th or “all others” option, is among 10 interests pegged in the 10-1 to 15-1 range.

“It’s one of the tougher final-pool weeding-out jobs I can recall,” said John Asher, the Churchill Downs spokesman who has been involved in deciding the lineups of every futures pool since the track began offering them in 1999.

The field closed as the favorite in the first three pools, which were held Nov. 24-27, Jan. 27-29, and Feb. 24-26. Seven horses have been separately listed in all four pools: Classic Empire, Gormley, Gunnevera, Irish War Cry, McCraken, Mo Town, and Practical Joke.

Seven new names are among the separately listed wagering interests in Pool 4. They are Battle of Midway, Cloud Computing, Girvin, J Boys Echo, Reach the World, Thunder Snow, and Untrapped. Untrapped was a Pool 2 interest but was part of the field for Pool 3.

Aggregate handle for the first three pools, including the Derby Sires wager that coincided with Pool 1, stands at $969,346. The record for aggregate handle for an entire year remains $1,665,990, set in 2005.

Last year, Nyquist closed as the 3-1 favorite in Pool 4 before winning the Derby at 2-1.

Win and exacta wagering are available at a $2 minimum, although exactas can be split into $1 increments in boxes or part-wheels. In the case of field horses filling both exacta slots, the next-best finish by a separately listed horse will count toward the winning combination.

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

The 143rd Derby is set for May 6.

Ky. Derby Futures Pool 4 odds

No. Horse Trainer P4 M/L P3 odds P2 odds P1 odds
1. Always Dreaming T. Pletcher 50-1 42-1 5-2(f) 6-5(f)
2. Batallion Runner T. Pletcher 30-1 34-1 22-1 6-5(f)
3. Battle of Midway J. Hollendorfer 50-1 5-1(f) 5-2(f) 6-5(f)
4. Classic Empire M. Casse 12-1 11-1 5-1 6-1
5. Cloud Computing C. Brown 15-1 5-1(f) 5-2(f) 6-5(f)
6. El Areeb C. Lynch 30-1 20-1 32-1 6-5(f)
7. Girvin J. Sharp 30-1 5-1(f) 5-2(f) 6-5(f)
8. Gormley J. Shirreffs 20-1 18-1 19-1 37-1
9. Guest Suite N. Howard 50-1 60-1 31-1 6-5(f)
10. Gunnevera A. Sano 6-1 22-1 24-1 22-1
11. Iliad D. O’Neill 15-1 24-1 5-2(f) 6-5(f)
12. Irish War Cry G. Motion 15-1 7-1 26-1 26-1
13. J Boys Echo D. Romans 10-1 5-1(f) 5-2(f) 6-5(f)
14. Malagacy T. Pletcher 30-1 53-1 5-2(f) 6-5(f)
15. McCraken I. Wilkes 6-1 6-1 9-1 12-1
16. Mo Town A. Dutrow 50-1 27-1 15-1 12-1
17. One Liner T. Pletcher 10-1 12-1 5-2(f) 6-5(f)
18. Practical Joke C. Brown 12-1 19-1 20-1 26-1
19. Reach the World B. Baffert 50-1 5-1(f) 5-2(f) 6-5(f)
20. State of Honor M. Casse 50-1 198-1 175-1 6-5(f)
21. Tapwrit T. Pletcher 10-1 22-1 5-2(f) 6-5(f)
22. Thunder Snow S. bin Suroor 15-1 5-1(f) 5-2(f) 6-5(f)
23. Untrapped S. Asmussen 50-1 5-1(f) 105-1 6-5(f)
24. Mutuel field n/a 10-1 5-1 5-2 6-5
(f)-mutuel field entry