Mohaymen favored at 7-2 early in Pool 4 of Derby Future Wager

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Mohaymen was a lukewarm favorite through the first full day of wagering into the fourth and final pool of the 2016 Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which opened Friday at noon Eastern for the customary three-day run.

Odds are not locked in until the pool closes Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern, so surely many fans will refrain from wagering until after the Florida Derby is run Saturday at Gulfstream Park, where the unbeatens Mohaymen and Nyquist will square off. They were the top two choices on the Pool 4 morning line issued by Churchill Downs.

Into Saturday, and after win handle of just $38,784, Mohaymen was 7-2, followed by Nyquist (5-1), Cupid (9-1), Gun Runner (11-1), Mo Tom (14-1), and Danzing Candy (16-1). An additional $21,367 was bet in exactas.

The mutuel field, the 24th or “all others” option, was favored in Derby Pool 1, which ran Nov. 26-29, and in Pool 2 (Feb. 12-14). Mohaymen closed as the 7-2 favorite in Pool 3 (March 11-13).

Mohaymen and Nyquist are the only horses among the 23 separately listed Pool 4 interests scheduled to race this weekend. None are in the only other Derby prep, the Spiral Stakes on Saturday at Turfway Park.

Last year, combined handle on Pool 4 was $336,717, with eventual Derby winner American Pharoah closing as a 9-2 favorite.

Aggregate handle for the first three pools toward the 2016 Derby stands at $943,999. The record for aggregate handle since Churchill Downs began offering parimutuel futures in 1999 is $1,665,990, set in 2005.

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

Results are predicated on the 142nd Kentucky Derby on May 7.