Monomoy Girl Favored Over West Coast Stars Dream Tree, Midnight Bisou in Lone Kentucky Oaks Future Wager

Mar 06, 2018

Louisiana-based Monomoy Girl (#14, 5-1) and California’s unbeaten Dream Tree (#7, 6-1) and rising star Midnight Bisou (#12, 6-1) head the list of 3-year-old fillies among 24 wagering interests set for this week’s three-day run of Churchill Downs’ 2018 Kentucky Oaks Future Wager (“KOFW”).

           Reigning 2-year-old filly champion and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (GI) winner Caledonia Road (#4, 10-1) also is on the roster of wagering interests set for the only Kentucky Oaks Future Wager Pool of 2018. The three-day wagering pool will open at noon (all times Eastern) on Friday and is scheduled to conclude at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday. The Kentucky Oaks Future pool will run concurrent to the Pool 3 of the Kentucky Derby, which also will open at noon Friday and is set to close Sunday at 6 p.m., 30 minutes prior to the close of the Kentucky Oaks bet.

           Also available from March 9-11 is the first Oaks/Derby Future Double. The $2 minimum bet requires fans to correctly select the winners of both the May 4 Longines Kentucky Oaks and May 5 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (GI).

           Wagering on the KDFW’s 24 betting interests will be available at Churchill Downs and racetracks and satellite wagering outlets across North American and online via TwinSpires.com, the official betting partner of the Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup World Championships, and other online wagering platforms.  

           The Brad Cox-trained Monomoy Girl suffered her only career loss in a narrow runner-up finish in the Golden Rod (GII) at Churchill Downs in November, but bounced back with a 2 ½-length triumph over KOFW wagering interests Classy Act (#5, 15-1) and Wonder Gadot (#23, 30-1) in the Rachel Alexandra (GII) at Fair Grounds in her 3-year-old debut. Her four victories in five races include a pair of wins at Churchill Downs, where the 144^th running of the Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI) is set for Friday, May 4.

 Dream Tree and Midnight Bisou are the co-second choices in the Oaks Future Pool, which is fitting since the former defeated the latter by a nose in each of their two meetings in 2017. Three-time Kentucky Oaks winner Bob Baffert trains Dream Tree opened her 2018 season with an easy win in the Las Virgenes (GII) at Santa Anita after concluding her perfect juvenile campaign with a romp in the Starlet (GI) at Los Alamitos. Baffert saddled China Racing Club International Ltd. and Clearsky Farm’s Abel Tasman to win last year’s renewal of the Kentucky Oaks. Midnight Bisou, a Bill Spawr-trained daughter of Midnight Lute, has scored impressive victories this year in Santa Anita’s Santa Ynez (GII) and Santa Ysabel (GIII).

 Champion Caledonia Road has not raced since her Breeders’ Cup victory for trainer Ralph Nicks and is working in Florida in preparation for her debut as a 3-year-old. She is 2-0-1 in three career races.

 Listed at 8-1 is the Mutuel Field, or “All Others” (#24), which includes all 3-year-old fillies other than the 23 individual wagering interests in the pool.

           The roster of wagering interests for the 2018 Kentucky Oaks Future Wager: Amy’s Challenge (#1, 30-1), Best Performance (#2, 30-1), C. S. Incharge (#3, 30-1), Caledonia Road (#4, 10-1), Classy Act (#5, 15-1), Coach Rocks (#6, 30-1), Cosmic Burst (#7, 50-1), Dream Tree (#8, 6-1), Eskimo Kisses (#9, 12-1), Gas Station Sushi (#10, 30-1), Heavenhasmynikki (#11, 30-1), Midnight Bisou (#12, 6-1), Midnight Disguise (#13, 30-1), Monomoy Girl (#14, 5-1), Patrona Margarita (#15, 50-1), Paved (#16, 30-1), Rayya (#17, 50-1), Red Ruby (#18, 20-1), Sassy Sienna (#19, 50-1), Spring Lily (#20, 30-1), Take Charge Paula (#21, 15-1), Thirteen Squared (#22, 20-1), Wonder Gadot (#23, 30-1) and All Others (#24, 8-1). 

           Trainers who condition a pair of 2018 Kentucky Oaks Future Wager interests include Baffert (Dream Tree and Thirteen Squared), Cox (Monomoy Girl and Sassy Sienna), Bret Calhoun (Classy Act and Patrona Margarita) and Dale Romans (C. S. Incharge and Coach Rocks).

 The Kentucky Oaks Future Wager enables fans to bet on possible contenders for the 144^th running of the Longines Kentucky Oaks well in advance of the May 4 running of America’s top race for 3-year-old fillies. The odds available on the pool’s 24 betting interests at the end of the three-day Oaks Future pool could be more attractive than those available on the day of the race.

 The wager is $2 minimum bet and is a win wager only. Pari-mutuel payouts on winning tickets on Kentucky Oaks Day will be determined by the pool’s final odds. The pool also includes an exacta wager that requires bettors to correctly choose the top two Oaks finishers in the exact order of finish. The exacta also is a $2 minimum bet, with exacta boxes available in $1 increments.

 No scratches or refunds are permitted in the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager. Should Churchill Downs officials determine during the pool that a wagering interest will not compete in the May 4 contest because of injury, illness or other circumstance, wagering on that interested will be suspended immediately.

 Real-time odds and other information on the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager, which will include free past performance information from Brisnet, is available online at www.KentuckyDerby.com/FutureWager.

 Churchill Downs, the world’s most legendary racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America’s greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ: CHDN) offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs will conduct the 144^th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve on May 5, 2018. The track’s 2018 Spring Meet is scheduled for April 28-June 30. An eight-time host to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, Churchill Downs will again be the site of that event on Nov. 2-3, 2018. Information is available at www.ChurchillDowns.com.