The final Kentucky Derby Future Wager betting has closed. Who’s the favorite for May 7?
About 15 minutes before the final day of major Kentucky Derby prep races began Saturday afternoon, the last future wager pool for the big race was closed.
The annual Derby Future Wager is offered at various times throughout the prep season, allowing bettors to put money down on that year’s top contenders well ahead of the actual race.
The favorite in the fifth and final pool of 2022 was Epicenter, who ended at 9-2 odds to win the May 7 race. Epicenter is trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen and most recently won the Louisiana Derby to cement his spot as one of the top contenders for this year’s Kentucky Derby.
The future wager pool closed before the Wood Memorial, Blue Grass Stakes and Santa Anita Derby — the last big preps of the spring — were run Saturday, giving bettors an opportunity to possibly find some good value on top contenders who were entered in those races. And the value was there to be found.
Mo Donegal (24-1 in the future wager odds) won the Wood Memorial, while Zandon (18-1) won the Blue Grass Stakes, and Taiba (not listed in the future wager) won the Santa Anita Derby in just his second career start, upsetting race favorites Forbidden Kingdom and Messier in the process.
Taiba and Messier were both among the horses transferred from Bob Baffert to trainer Tim Yakteen due to Baffert’s Kentucky Derby ban.
There were a total of 23 individual betting options in the final Kentucky Derby Future Wager, as well as an “all others” option that will give bettors all of the Derby starters who aren’t listed elsewhere in the pool. The final odds on that “all others” option were 18-1.
After Epicenter, the favorites in the final future wager pool included Forbidden Kingdom (9-1), Messier (6-1), Smile Happy (9-1) and White Abarrio (12-1). There was a total of more than $320,000 in the win pool.
Derby Future Wager pool 5 odds
1. Barber Road (28-1)
2. Charge It (16-1)
3. Crown Pride (24-1)
4. Cyberknife (17-1)
5. Early Voting (29-1)
6. Emmanuel (35-1)
7. Epicenter (9-2)
8. Ethereal Road (40-1)
9. Forbidden Kingdom (9-1)
10. In Due Time (95-1)
11. Messier (6-1)
12. Mo Donegal (24-1)
13. Morello (15-1)
14. Pioneer of Medina (123-1)
15. Simplification (32-1)
16. Slow Down Andy (50-1)
17. Smile Happy (9-1)
18. Summer Is Tomorrow (66-1)
19. Tawny Port (114-1)
20. Tiz the Bomb (22-1)
21. White Abarrio (12-1)
22. Zandon (18-1)
23. Zozos (40-1)
24. “All Other 3-Year-Olds” (18-1)
This story was originally published April 9, 2022 at 4:37 PM.
