Nysos made 4-1 top choice in first Preakness Future Wager pool

Nysos, the undefeated 3-year-old colt trained by Bob Baffert, has been made the 4-1 morning-line favorite for the first Preakness Stakes Future Wager pool, which opens Thursday.

Like other horses trained by Baffert, Nysos is unable to run in the Kentucky Derby this year due to a ban placed on Baffert by Churchill Downs. Baffert is expected to target the Preakness with his top 3-year-olds this year, as he did last year, when he won the second leg of the Triple Crown with National Treasure.

The pool includes 39 individual betting interests and an entry including “all other 3-year-olds,” which has been made the 6-1 second choice on the morning line. The pool opens at noon Eastern on Thursday and will close at 8 p.m. Eastern on Saturday.

:: Get FREE past performances for the Preakness Future Wager

There are three major Kentucky Derby prep races scheduled for Saturday – the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park in Florida, the Grade 2 San Felipe at Santa Anita Park, and the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct in New York. Several top Derby prospects are scheduled to run in the Fountain of Youth, including Dornoch and Locked, who will both be making their 2023 debuts.

With so much action over the weekend, the morning lines for the Preakness future wager are, at best, guesses. Still, Maymun, another undefeated horse trained by Baffert, is the third choice, at 10-1. Dornoch is the co-fourth choice, at 15-1, the same price as Sierra Leone, the recent winner of the Risen Star Stakes at the Fair Grounds.

The wager has a $2 minimum and 18 percent takeout. The Preakness is scheduled for May 18 this year.

1/ST Racing, the owner of Pimlico Race Course, debuted a Preakness Future Wager last year, taking the lead from Churchill Downs, which debuted its Kentucky Derby Future Wager 26 years ago. The inaugural Preakness Future Wager opened eight days before the Kentucky Derby but closed just prior to the Derby being run. The field included 28 horses and an “all others” entry.

1/ST plans to hold a second future wager this year, along the same lines as last year’s inaugural bet. It will open on April 26 and close at 6 p.m. on May 4, approximately 45 minutes prior to post time of the Kentucky Derby.

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