An extremely handsome bet on ‘under the radar’ three year old Runflatout has played havoc with the odds in the Kentucky Derby Futures Betting pool. Following what is clearly a ‘sharp’ wager, Runflatout’s win pool amount dwarfed those of every other horse in the field and left him the 5-2 favorite among 24 betting interests.
Runflatout is based in California at Santa Anita and is trained by the highly respected John Sadler. He’s raced only once, earning a 98 Beyer Speed Rating in a 2 1/2 length victory at Santa Anita on January 29. He wasn’t listed as a separate betting interest in the first Kentucky Derby Futures pool and opened as a 50-1 choice on the morning line. The field closed as the 2-1 favorite in Pool 1 with a total handle of $592,492. Pool 3 is set for April 1-3.
Highly touted Uncle Mo, who has been the favorite in the Las Vegas based Wynn Casino Sportsbook futures betting, is currently the third choice in the official Churchill Downs betting market. To Honor and Serve is the second choice of the horse race betting public at 7-2, with Uncle Mo third at 6-1. The ‘all others’ or ‘field’ option was fourth at 10-1. Since the betting pool won’t close until 6 PM Eastern Time on Sunday Uncle Mo could be bet up or down based on his performance in Saturday’s Timely Writer at Gulfstream Park. Uncle Mo will face a somewhat undistinguished field of five in that race, and a loss–or in reality anything less than a flat out dominating performance–could be seen as a ‘sell’ sign by many bettors. In addition, there’s a number of other races scheduled for Saturday that could improve or decrease the stock of a number of Derby hopefuls. In particular, Runflatout will be in action at the Grade 2 San Felipe at Santa Anita. At the very least, a strong showing by Uncle Mo could attract enough money to propel him to favorite status over Runflatout and To Honor and Serve who finished second to Soldat’s sizzling performance in the Fountain of Youth.
Also on Friday the Kentucky Oaks Futures Betting pool opened for wagering. Zazu was the early 7-2 favorite, followed by Kathmanblu at 9-2 and the ‘all others’ or ‘field’ option at 7-1. Delightful Mary was the fourth choice at 12-1.