Pari-Mutuel Field 7-5 Morning Line Favorite in Pool 2 of Kentucky Derby Future Wager; Smile Happy 8-1 Second Choice

Jan 18, 2022

Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager
(“KDFW”) is set to open at noon Friday with the pari-mutuel field of “All
Other 3-Year-Olds” tabbed as the heavy 7-5 morning line favorite.

The second of five pools
for the KDFW will run for three days through Sunday at 6 p.m. ET. Bettors can
place win and exacta wagers at simulcast outlets throughout the country and
online at TwinSpires.com, the official ADW of Churchill Downs Incorporated.

Like in Pool 1, the KDFW
pools assumes that horses under the care of trainers suspended from competing
in the 2022 Kentucky Derby will not be under consideration.

Lucky Seven Stable’s $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (Grade II) winner Smile
Happy was installed as the 8-1 individual Pool 2 favorite by morning line
oddsmaker Mike Battaglia. Trained by Kenny McPeek, Smile Happy is
based at Gulfstream Park in South Florida and has been steadily working toward
his 3-year-old debut. Smile Happy is one of four McPeek-trained colts in Pool
2. The others are Dash Attack (20-1), Rattle N Roll (30-1) and Tiz
the Bomb (20-1).

In Pool 1, Smile Happy closed as the 8-1 individual favorite behind “All Other
Colts and Geldings,” who was the odds-on 3-5 betting choice. Total handle for
the Nov. 25-28 KDFW pool was $326,448 ($263,008 in the Win pool and $63,440 in
Exactas), which was up 30.9% from last year’s $249,331.

Here’s the complete Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 2 field (with trainer and
morning line odds): #1 Chasing Time (Steve Asmussen, 20-1); #2 Classic
Causeway (Brian Lynch, 30-1); #3 Commandperformance (Todd Pletcher,
50-1); #4 Courvoisier (Kelly Breen, 30-1); #5 Dash Attack (McPeek,
20-1); #6 Emmanuel (Pletcher, 50-1); #7 Epicenter (Asmussen,
15-1); #8 Giant Game (Dale Romans, 30-1); #9 High Oak (Bill Mott,
50-1); #10 Jack Christopher (Chad Brown, 10-1); #11 Major General
(Pletcher, 50-1); #12 Make It Big (Saffie Joseph Jr., 50-1); #13 Mo
Donegal (Pletcher, 12-1); #14 Pappacap (Mark Casse, 20-1); #15
Rattle N Roll (McPeek, 30-1); #16 Simplification (Antonio Sano, 30-1);
#17 Slow Down Andy (Doug O’Neill, 15-1); #18 Smile Happy (McPeek, 8-1);
#19 Tiz the Bomb (McPeek, 20-1); #20 Trafalgar (Al Stall Jr., 50-1); #21
Varatti (Pletcher, 50-1); #22 White Abarrio (Joseph,
50-1); #23 Zandon (Brown, 12-1); and #24 “All Other 3-Year-Olds” (7-5).

The
pari-mutuel field for the first pool of the New Year has closed as the bettors’
choice every year since the wager was inaugurated in 1999, and the final odds
were 5-2 in five of the last seven years.

There are nine new individual interests from Pool 1 in the KDFW. They are
first-level allowance winner Chasing Time; Jerome winner Courvoisier; Smarty
Jones winner Dash Attack; debut maiden winner Emmanuel; Saratoga Special winner
High Oak; Remington Springboard Mile winner Make It Big; Mucho Macho Man winner
Simplification; Los Alamitos Futurity (GII) winner Slow Down Andy; and Kentucky
Jockey Club third White Abarrio.

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 148^th running of Kentucky Derby, America’s
greatest race and the first leg of the Triple Crown, is set for Saturday, May 7
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.     

The other Future Wager
dates are set for Feb. 11-13 (Pool 3), March 11-13 (Pool 4) and March 31-April
2 (Pool 5). The lone Kentucky Oaks Future Wager will coincide with Kentucky
Derby Future Wager Pool 4 on March 11-13.    

More information,
Brisnet.com past performances and real-time odds on the Kentucky Derby Future
Wager will be available before the pool opens Friday online at https://www.kentuckyderby.com/wager/future-wager.