Rags to Riches Tops Final Oaks Future Pool

Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor’s Rags to Riches, the Todd Pletcher-trained winner of the Las Virgenes (gr. I) and Santa Anita Oaks (gr. I), will be a heavy favorite when the third and final pool Churchill Downs’ 2007 Kentucky Oaks Future Wager (“KOFW”) launches its four-day run April 12.
 
Churchill Downs handicapper Mike Battaglia has installed Rags to Riches as the 2-1 choice in his morning line odds for KOFW Pool 2, which opens at noon April 12 and will conclude at 6:30 p.m. April 15.  She is the only member of the field of 24 wagering interests with odds in single digits. 
 
Starlight Stable and Donald Lucarelli’s Octave – runner-up in the Ashland (gr. I), Fair Grounds Oaks (gr. II) and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (gr. I) – is the pool’s second choice at 10-1.  Other highly regarded betting interests include Anita Ebert’s High Heels (12-1), winner of Oaklawn Park’s Fantasy (gr. II); Dogwood Stable’s Cotton Blossom (12-1), winner of the Florida Oaks and runner-up in the Fantasy; Santa Ysabel (gr. III) winner Baroness Thatcher (15-1); Bonnie Miss (gr. II) winner High Again (15-1); Fair Grounds Oaks winner Mistical Plan (15-1); Bourbonette Breeders’ Cup (gr. III) winner Sealy Hill (15-1); and Sunland Park Oaks winner Tough Tiz’s Sis (15-1).  
 
The mutuel field, which includes all 3-year-old fillies other than the 23 individual horses listed in the pool, is a 20-1 risk in the morning line odds.  The “all others” wager was a narrow favorite in February’s opening KOFW pool.
 
Rags to Riches, a daughter of A.P. Indy, stood as the solid 4-1 choice of racing fans across the United States and Canada when the second of this year’s KOFW was held in March and was a close second choice to the mutuel field in the year’s opening pool.  Pletcher, who is looking for his second victory in the Kentucky Oaks, plans to train Rags to Riches up to the $500,000-added race for 3-year-old fillies May 4.
 
The Kentucky Oaks Future Wager, which is now in its fifth year, allows racing fans to wager on contenders for the $500,000 Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) at odds that could be significantly better than those they would receive on the day of the race.  The wager is a $2-minimum bet and a win wager only.  There are no refunds in the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager and winning payouts on the day of the race will be based on the odds that are in place at the conclusion of each respective KOFW pool.
 
Wagering at racetracks and off-track betting outlets in the United States and Canada on March’s second of three 2007 Kentucky Oaks Future pools totaled $55,840.  The total was the largest in Pool 2 since the Oaks Future bet adopted its three-pool format in 2004.  February’s opening pool attracted betting of $66,206 and the combined betting total for the first two KOFW pools of the year stands at $122,046.
 
Sealy Hill heads a group of nine new betting interests in KOFW Pool 3.  Other newcomers in the pool include Dawn After Dawn (50-1), Her Majesty (30-1), Moonee Ponds (30-1), Panty Raid (50-1), Silverinyourpocket (30-1), Silver Knockers (20-1), Swift Temper (50-1) and Time’s Mistress (50-1).