Three Derby Future Wager pools planned; Oaks pool to offer exactas

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Churchill Downs has set the dates for the three three-day pools in the 2011 Kentucky Derby Future Wager while announcing that exacta wagering will be offered for the first time in the single Kentucky Oaks Future Wager pool.

The dates are Feb. 18-20, March 11-13, and April 1-3.

This is the 13th year for the Future Wager, which has undergone a number of changes through the years. The latest is exactas in the Oaks pool, which will again run concurrently with Derby Pool 2. Exactas were first offered on Derby futures during Pool 2 of 2009.

All Derby pools will open at noon Eastern on the corresponding Fridays and close at 6 p.m. on the corresponding Sundays. The Oaks pool will have a 6:30 p.m. Sunday close.

Win wagers into the pari-mutuel pools are $2 minimum, while exactas can be bought for $1 if used in a box or part-wheel. As usual, there will be 23 separately listed wagering interests in each pool, with a mutuel field, or “all others,” serving as the 24th interest. Aggregate handle on the three Derby pools in 2010 was $1,132,055.

Win payoffs last year on the Derby winner, Super Saver, paid substantially more than the $18 he returned for $2 on Derby Day. Listed as a separate interest in Pools 1 through 3, he paid $43.20, $51.20, and $73, respectively.