by Churchill Downs Press Release
November 23, 2020
Godolphin’s undefeated $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (GI) winner Essential Quality is the 10-1 individual favorite among 24 betting interests in Pool 1 of the 2021 Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which kicks off a four-day run at Churchill Downs on Thanksgiving Day.
The pari-mutuel field of “All Other 3-Year-Old Colts and Geldings” is expected to be the overall first-pool favorite for the 23rd consecutive year and veteran odds maker Mike Battaglia has installed it as the 6-5 favorite.
In addition to Essential Quality, other promising juveniles that are expected to take interest are CHC INC and WinStar Farm’s recent 9 ½-length maiden winner Life Is Good, who cruised 6 ½ furlongs on debut in 1:15.40 Sunday for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, and Klaravich Stable’s $125,000 Nyquist Stakes winner Highly Motivated, who is conditioned by top trainer Chad Brown. Both colts were made 15-1 on Battaglia’s morning line odds.
Here’s the complete Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 1 field (with trainer and morning line odds):
The pool, which features $2 Win and Exacta wagering, opens Thursday at noon and will close Sunday at 6 p.m. ET.
The Kentucky Derby Future Wager will be offered concurrently with the sixth annual Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager, which provides bettors with a unique opportunity to wager on select breeding stars and their entire crop of juveniles with the hope of winning next year’s Kentucky Derby.
Offspring sired by Into Mischief and Tapit were made the co-individual favorites at 6-1 on the morning line by Battaglia. The overall favorite is the “All Other Sires” betting interest, which was made 9-2.
Here’s the Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager field (with morning line odds):
This marks the eighth consecutive year that Churchill Downs has hosted Future Wager pools in November on closing weekend of its Fall Meet. In last year’s wager, eventual Kentucky Derby winner Authentic closed at 50-1 odds and returned $103.60 for a $2 wager. His sire, Into Mischief, closed at 17-1 and returned $36.20.
The Kentucky Derby Future Wagers provide fans of Thoroughbred racing with opportunities to place bets on possible entrants in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade I) at odds that could be far greater and more attractive than those available on the day of the race. The 147th running of Kentucky Derby, America’s greatest race and the first leg of the Triple Crown, is set for Saturday, May 1, 2021 at Churchill Downs.
There are no refunds in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager. Should Churchill Downs officials determine during the duration of this week’s four-day pool that one of the wagering interests has experienced an injury, illness or other circumstance that would prevent the horse from participating in the Kentucky Derby, betting on the individual horse will be suspended immediately.