Ruidoso Downs: Mighty B Valiant tops All American Future Wager

Mighty B Valiant, the fastest qualifier for the $700,000 Rainbow Futurity on July 24, is the 5-2 morning-line favorite for this year’s All American Future Wager on the $2.4 million All American Futurity for Quarter Horses at Ruidoso Downs on Sept. 5.

Betting on the Future Wager opens Friday and will continue through July 23, a nine-day period. Similar to the Kentucky Derby Future Wager conducted in late winter and early spring, the All American Future Wager offers betting on 23 individual horses and a field for all other runners. Only win betting is conducted.

The All American Futurity field will be determined in time trials Aug. 18. The 10 fastest horses from a full day of trials, regardless of finishing position, will earn berths in the Labor Day final.

Last year, all 10 qualifiers for the All American Futurity were part of the field in the All American Future Wager, which drew a pool of $16,163. A $2 win bet on the field was worth $11. The 7-2 favorite in the 2010 Future Wager was American Runaway, who finished second in the Rainbow Futurity but only seventh in a division of the All American Futurity trials, failing to qualify.

This year, the field is listed as the 4-1 third choice on the morning line, behind Mighty B Valiant and High Rate of Return, who is 7-2.

Mighty B Valiant has won 4 of 5 starts and $506,813. Trained by Raymond Vargas, Mighty B Valiant won the Remington Park Futurity on April 16 and was second by a half-length to High Rate of Return in the Heritage Place Futurity at Remington Park on May 28. High Rate of Return, unbeaten in three starts, has not started since the Heritage Place Futurity.

All 10 finalists for the Rainbow Futurity are part of the Future Wager.

The All American Future Wager will be available at Ruidoso, at tracks in California, Louisiana, and New Mexico, and through TVG. The All American Future Wager website address is aafuturewager.com.