New Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool will have 40 betting interests
Churchill Downs will host a new Kentucky Derby future pool beginning next week that will close prior to the Breeders’ Cup event, with a field that includes a total of 40 betting interests, the company announced on Tuesday.
This will be the earliest that Churchill has hosted a Derby future pool since the company inaugurated the wager in 1999, and the first that will offer 40 betting interests. Earlier future pools had offered 24 interests due to limitations in the sport’s bet-processing systems.
The new pool, which will offer both win and exacta wagering, with a minimum bet of $2, will open on Nov. 1, two days after Churchill holds its Oct. 30 “Stars of Tomorrow” program that includes two stakes for 2-year-olds and another nine overnight races restricted to juveniles. Churchill said in a release that the field for the future pool will be released “following the conclusion” of the program.
As in earlier pools, the field of entries will include an “all others” option that combines all horses not listed individually in the pool.
The pool will close on Thursday, Nov. 3, at 6 p.m. Eastern. On Nov. 4, the five Breeders’ Cup races restricted to 2-year-olds will be held at Keeneland. The winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile is often the early favorite for the Derby.
Darren Rogers, a spokesman for Churchill, said that the company plans to expand the field to 40 for all of its subsequent future pools. Including the Nov. 1-3 pool, Churchill has six standard future pools scheduled prior to next year’s Derby on May 6, on Nov. 24-27, Jan. 20-22, Feb. 10-12, March 10-12, and March 30-Apr. 1.
Churchill will also host a future pool for the sire of the Derby winner on Nov. 24-27, and a future pool for the winner of the May 5 Kentucky Oaks on March 10-12.
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