With the Kentucky Derby still 15 weeks away, the pari-mutuel field of “All Other 3-Year-Olds” closed as the 9-5 favorite in Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW) and Smile Happy was the 8-1 second choice.
The pari-mutuel field for the first pool of the New Year has closed as the bettors' choice every year since the future wager was inaugurated in 1999.
Smile Happy, owned by Michael J. Mackin's Lucky Seven Stable and trained by Kenny McPeek, was the 3 ¼-length winner of the $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) at Churchill Downs in November.
Other horses who attracted interest from bettors: McPeek's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) runner-up Tiz the Bomb (10-1); Champagne (G1) winner Jack Christopher (14-1); first-level allowance winner Chasing Time (17-1); and debut maiden winner Emmanuel (17-1).
Horses in order of the public's betting choice (with trainer, Pool 2 odds and $2 Win Will Pays): #24 “All Other 3-Year-Olds” (9-5, $5.80); #18 Smile Happy (McPeek, 8-1, $18); #19 Tiz the Bomb (McPeek, 10-1, $22.80); #10 Jack Christopher (Chad Brown, 14-1, $30); #1 Chasing Time (Steve Asmussen, 17-1, $36.40); #6 Emmanuel (Todd Pletcher, 17-1, $37.60); #15 Rattle N Roll (McPeek, 20-1, $42.60); #17 Slow Down Andy (Doug O'Neill, 20-1, $43); #13 Mo Donegal (Pletcher, 23-1, $48.20); #7 Epicenter (Asmussen, 24-1, $51.20); #14 Pappacap (Mark Casse, 24-1, $51.20); #23 Zandon (Brown, 25-1, $52); #8 Giant Game (Dale Romans, 28-1, $59); #5 Dash Attack (McPeek, 34-1, $70.80); #9 High Oak (Bill Mott, 38-1, $78.80); #4 Courvoisier (Kelly Breen, 39-1, $81.60); #11 Major General (Pletcher, 41-1, $84.40); #3 Commandperformance (Pletcher, 41-1, $85); #16 Simplification (Antonio Sano, 43-1, $89.60); #21 Varatti (Pletcher, 47-1, $97.40); #2 Classic Causeway (Brian Lynch, 51-1, $105.60); #20 Trafalgar (Al Stall Jr., 77-1, $156.60); #12 Make It Big (Saffie Joseph Jr., 85-1, $172.80); and #22 White Abarrio (Joseph, 171-1, $344.20).
Total handle for the Jan. 21-23 KDFW pool – the second of five scheduled wagering pools in advance of the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) on Saturday, May 7 – was $361,209 ($273,712 in the Win pool and $87,497 in Exactas), up 12.2% from last year's $322,035 ($240,768 in the Win pool and $81,267 in Exactas).
The other Future Wager dates are set 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.
Visit www.KentuckyDerby.com/FutureWager for more information.
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