Unbeaten Breeder’s Cup Juvenile champion Uncle Mo has been tabbed as a potential Kentucky Derby winner ever since that win and he’s the current betting favorite at Las Vegas race and sportsbooks. At the conclusion of betting for the first parimutual Kentucky Derby betting futures pool, however, Uncle Mo was second to ‘none of the above’—or more specifically, the ‘field’ listed on the 2011 Kentucky Derby futures pool as ‘all others’. The ‘All Others’ entry was the 2-1 favorite betting choice after three days of brisk betting into the first ‘live betting’ opportunity into a parimutual pool that has been offered for this year’s ‘Run For The Roses’.
Uncle Mo still received plenty of support from bettors into the Derby futures pool and was the top single horse in the field and the second choice overall, priced at 7-2. The wagering public’s preference for the ‘field’ isn’t surprising and far from unprecedented. The ‘All Others’ bet includes every eligible three year old other than the 23 top contenders listed as wagering interests in the pool. This is the thirteenth year for the Churchill Downs based Kentucky Derby Futures Bet and the mutual field (eg: ‘All Others’) has been the favorite after the first pool in every year.
Holy Bull Stakes winner Dialed In was the third choice of Kentucky Derby Futures bettors at 8-1. Remsen Stakes winner To Honor and Serve was next up at 10-1 and Brethren–the unbeaten half brother of 2010 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver—was the fifth favored wagering interest.
Horse racing enthusiasts and Kentucky thoroughbred industry observers were pleased with the volume of betting after the first weekend of the 2011 Futures. Bettors wagered a near-record $592,492 in the win and exacta pools during the three-day session making it the second-largest single pool total in the thirteen year history of the wager behind the opening pool in 2005 when $620,362 was bet. The 2011 Pool 1 total includes $480,375 wagered to win and $112,117 in exacta bets.
The Kentucky Derby Future Wager was created to provide horse betting enthusiasts a competitive option to futures markets offered by Las Vegas casino sportsbooks and the embryonic at the time offshore betting industry. It offers win and exacta wagering with all bets are $2 minimum wagers. Unlike race day wagering, all bets are action so if a horse doesn’t make the Kentucky Derby field or otherwise doesn’t start the bettor forfeits his stake. While this is standard practice in sportsbook future betting both in Nevada and elsewhere, typically a late scratch or other issue that precludes a horse from running is treated as ‘no action’ and all bets are refunded. If it is determined during the betting pool that a horse won’t be able to run in the Kentucky Derby due to injury, illness, etc. he is taken ‘off the board’ immediately with no future wagering on that betting interest allowed.
Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Futures Wager is set for March 11-13 and with the final pool scheduled for April 1-3. The Kentucky Derby will be run on Saturday, May 7 at Churchill Downs.