The final Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool will be held this weekend, but bettors should know right away to get their wagers in early, as the pool will close prior to the running of the three big stakes races on Saturday that will go a long way toward determining the favorites and the starting field for the May 3 Kentucky Derby.
Journalism, the favorite in a field of five in Saturday’s $500,000 Santa Anita Derby, has been made the morning-line favorite for the final Future Wager pool at 4-1. In his last start, Journalism posted a 108 Beyer Speed Figure winning the San Felipe at Santa Anita on March 1. Four of the five entrants in the Santa Anita Derby appear as individual entrants in the Future Wager pool, including Citizen Bull (10-1) and Barnes (15-1).
Journalism closed as the 5-1 favorite in the previous Future Wager pool ahead of Sovereignty (then 7-1, now 10-1), who finished second in last weekend’s Florida Derby, and Citizen Bull (then 9-1), who is also entered in the Santa Anita Derby.
The pool will open at noon on Thursday and close at 4 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, well before the post times for the Santa Anita Derby, Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, and Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland.
The final pool has 39 individual entries plus the standard entry for “all other 3-year-olds" (20-1). Of the individual entries, 14 are new to the pool, including American Promise (30-1), who won the Virginia Derby three weeks ago, and Publisher (25-1), second in the Arkansas Derby behind Sandman (8-1).
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