Baffert duo top individual choices in latest Kentucky Derby Future Wager
The Kentucky Derby is only 11 weeks away, but the sorting has just begun for the 2025 class of 3-year-old thoroughbreds taking aim at the 20 available post positions for the Run for the Roses.
When Churchill Downs closed betting Sunday for Pool 4 of the 2025 Kentucky Derby Future Wager, the 9-2 favorite was “All Other 3-Year-Olds.”
From a wagering standpoint, that’s the safe play for the moment to be sure. Those willing to commit to individual contenders at this point cast their lot most aggressively with a pair of Bob Baffert-trained horses.
Barnes (8-1) and Citizen Bull (9-1) were the top two individual picks at the end of the weekend.
The 151st Kentucky Derby is set for May 3 at Churchill Downs, which suspended Baffert for three years after a failed drug test on 2021 Run for the Roses champion Medina Spirit.
Baffert, winner of six Kentucky Derbys before Medina Spirit’s disqualification, was reinstated by Churchill last July, meaning he’s eligible to run horses in the 2025 Kentucky Derby.
The 72-year-old trainer, who has won two Triple Crowns and a record 17 Triple Crown races in total, is launching his potential return to the Derby with a formidable lineup of 3-year-olds that included four choices in addition to Barnes and Citizen Bull in the latest future wager pool.
Baffert also trains Rodriguez (29-1), Getaway Car (50-1), Gaming (70-1) and San Saba (107-1).
Barnes is undefeated in two starts, most recently winning his 2025 debut in the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes at Santa Anita on Jan. 4.
Barnes was also the individual favorite in Pool 2 (13-1) and Pool 3 (6-1) of the future wager.
Citizen Bull, who most recently won the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes on Feb. 1 at Santa Anita, won two Grade 1 races as a 2-year-old in capturing the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar and the American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita.
Trainers Brad Cox and Todd Pletcher follow Baffert’s six contenders with five each.
Cox has John Hancock (21-1), Disco Time (30-1), Patch Adams (37-1), Tappan Street (46-1) and Rapture (85-1).
Pletcher’s troops are River Thames (38-1), Grande (61-1), Gate to Wire (66-1), Vassimo (96-1) and Tip Top Thomas (103-1).
Kenny McPeek, who won last year’s Kentucky Derby with Mystik Dan, has only one entrant in Pool 4 in Hypnus (51-1), who made his career debut with a maiden special weight win at Fair Grounds on Jan. 18.
Other top contenders include Holy Bull winner Burnham Square (15-1), Southwest runner-up Sandman (16-1), Street Sense winner Sovereignty (17-1), Breeders’ Futurity winner East Avenue (18-1) and Los Alamitos Futurity winner Journalism (19-1).
Total handle for the Feb. 14-16 pool — the fourth of six scheduled wagering pools in advance of the Derby — was $412,766.
Through the first four pools, a total of $1,253,931 has been bet on Derby future wagers, a 2.9% jump from last year’s $1,218,084.
This year’s remaining future wager dates are set for March 14-16 (Pool 5) and April 3-5 (Pool 6).
Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 4 final odds
All Other 3-Year-Olds (9-2)
Barnes (8-1)
Citizen Bull (9-1)
Burnham Square (15-1)
Sandman (16-1)
Sovereignty (17-1)
East Avenue (18-1)
Journalism (19-1)
John Hancock (21-1)
Chancer McPatrick (23-1)
Rodriguez (29-1)
Disco Time (30-1)
Captain Cook (35-1)
Patch Adams (37-1)
River Thames (38-1)
Built (43-1)
Tappan Street (46-1)
First Resort (49-1)
Getaway Car (50-1)
Hypnus (51-1)
Coal Battle (58-1)
Jonathan’s Way (61-1)
Grande (61-1)
Speed King (64-1)
Gate to Wire (66-1)
Keep It Easy (69-1)
Poster (70-1)
Gaming (70-1)
Tiztastic (73-1)
Ferocious (76-1)
Sand Devil (85-1)
Rapture (85-1)
Vassimo (96-1)
Tip Top Thomas (103-1)
San Saba (107-1)
Innovator (111-1)
Sorcerer’s Silver (128-1)
Cyclone State (143-1)
Praetor (171-1)
Legitimate (294-1)
This story was originally published February 17, 2025 at 12:54 PM.