It’s an opportunity for clairvoyants and risk takers – predict the future of the Kentucky Derby two and a half months before post time.  The first Derby Future pool opened today at noon Eastern Time.  Betting will remain open through Sunday February 14th at 6:00 PM ET. Given the length of time between now and the Kentucky Derby and the subsequent myriad of possible injuries and changes, perhaps it’s not surprising that so far the betting odds are favoring the “all others” option above any individual horse listed.   Of the individual horses, Looking at Lucky is favored.  At the time this was written, Buddy’s Saint, Dublin, Uptowncharlybrown, Super Saver and Drosselmeyer followed Looking at Lucky for the lowest odds.  However, with prep races taking place this weekend, plus the tendency for bettors to place their wagers late rather than early there is still room for big changes before the deadline.  It’s quite likely that the odds will continue to shift up until the cutoff time.

Exactas Added – Betting Periods Shortened

The minimum amounts for betting on the 2010 Kentucky Derby Future Wager are $2 for a win bet, $2 for an exacta, and $1 for exacta boxes and wheels.  This year, there will be two alterations from last year: the betting periods have been shortened from 4 days to 3, and exacta betting options will be offered for all Kentucky Derby Future Wagers.  In past years, many players waited to see the results of the weekend’s prep races before placing bets on Saturday night or Sunday.  As a result, Thursdays were typically light wagering days.  The shorter period for the pool will concentrate betting activity into a shorter number of days.

The following are the dates for the three future pools:

Pool 1 – February 12-14
Pool 2 – March 5-7
Pool 3 – March 26-28

There are no scratches or refunds on any wagers. The winning payouts are determined by the odds in place at the cutoff time. 

Horseplayers with a Twinspires account can earn 20X points for betting on the Kentucky Derby Future Pool 1.

Previous Results

In the past 11 years that Derby pools have been offered, “all others” has been the winning wager of Pool 1 in 5 of them.  Based on those odds, however, there is better than a 50% chance that the 2010 Kentucky Derby winner is in the future pool and available to betters right now, possibly at better odds than they might get on Derby Day.

Learn about Contenders

Past performances, real time odds, background information on individual horses and video clips are available at the official Kentucky Derby Web site www.kentuckyderby.com.   The morning line odds for the 23 individual horses plus the “all others” option are listed below.  Six of the 23 are scheduled to run this weekend before the pool ends.

2010 KENTUCKY DERBY FUTURE WAGER POOL 1 (Feb. 12-14)

1. Aikenite - 30-1
2. American Lion - 20-1
3. Buddy's Saint - 12-1
4. Concord Point - 30-1
5. Conveyance - 12-1
6. Dave in Dixie - 20-1
7. Drosselmeyer - 20-1
8. Dryfly - 20-1
9. Dublin - 15-1
10. Eskendereya - 20-1
11. Jackson Bend - 12-1
12. Lookin At Lucky - 8-1
13. Make Music For Me - 50-1
14. Maximus Ruler - 50-1
15. Noble's Promise - 15-1
16. Ron the Greek - 30-1
17. Rule - 12-1
18. Stay Put - 50-1
19. Super Saver - 15-1
20. Tiz Chrome - 20-1
21. Uptowncharlybrown - 50-1
22. Vale of York - 30-1
23. William's Kitten - 30-1
24. All other 3-year-olds - 5-2

Morning line by Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia