Mutuel field closes favored at 2-1 in Pool 2 of 2020 Kentucky Derby Future Wager

The mutuel field, the 24th or “all others” option, closed as the favorite over Nadal after three days of betting into Pool 2 of the 2020 Kentucky Derby Future Wager. The pool opened Friday at noon Eastern and ran through 6 p.m. Sunday.

The field closed at 2-1, followed by Nadal (8-1), Tiz the Law (8-1), Dennis’ Moment (10-1), Maxfield (13-1), Authentic (15-1), and Thousand Words (16-1). The lowest $2 exacta will-pay is the field over Tiz the Law (24-22), worth $54.40.

Combined handle was $590,911, up 10.7 percent over the corresponding 2019 pool, with $439,694 bet to win and $151,217 in exactas. Total handle for Pool 2 last year was $533,977, up 2.4 percent from 2018.

While Pool 2 was open, only two of the 23 individually listed horses were in action. Both were in the Sam F. Davis on Saturday, with Independence Hall (19-1 in Pool 2) running second and Premier Star (169-1) a distant sixth.

However, two more Pool 2 horses raced shortly after it closed Sunday in the San Vicente at Santa Anita, with Nadal the winner and Storm the Court (30-1) finishing fourth.

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The field has always been the favorite in the pool held at this time of year (originally Pool 1, now Pool 2) since Churchill Downs began offering parimutuel futures in 1999. The futures were expanded from three pools to four in advance of the 2014 Kentucky Derby.

The field closed as the even-money favorite in Pool 1, which was held Nov. 28-Dec. 1 in tandem with the Derby Sires Future Wager. Combined Pool 1 handle was $350,312, with another $45,438 bet in the sires wager.

Pool 3 is set for March 6-8 and Pool 4 for April 3-5. The lone Kentucky Oaks futures pool will coincide with Pool 3.

Last year in Pool 2, the field closed as the 5-2 favorite for the fifth straight year when including the eventual Derby winner, Country House. Pool 2 in 2017 and 2018 also included the Derby winners (Always Dreaming and Justify).

The record for handle in a single pool is $631,304, set in 2012, while the record for aggregate handle in a single year is $1,893,353, set in 2018.

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.

The 146th Kentucky Derby will be run May 2.