Churchill Downs has established dates for three wagering pools for its Kentucky Derby Future Wager and a single pool for its Kentucky Oaks Future Wager in 2013.
Scheduled dates for the trio of three-day, Friday-through-Sunday wagering pools in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager are:
— KDFW Pool 1: Feb. 8-10 (12 weeks in advance of Derby)
— KDFW Pool 2: March 1-3 (nine weeks in advance of Derby)
— KDFW Pool 3: March 22-24 (six weeks in advance of Derby)
The Kentucky Oaks Future Wager Pool for 2013 will run concurrently to the March 1-3 Derby Future pool.
The Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks future wagers offer bettors an opportunity to wager on potential contenders well in advance of those races at odds that could be significantly different than those available on the days on which the races are run.
The $2 million Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) will be run for the 139th consecutive year at Churchill Downs May 4. The $1 million Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) will be run a day before the "Run for the Roses."
Wagering on the Kentucky Derby and Oaks future bets will be offered at Churchill Downs and racetracks throughout North America; via TwinSpires.com and other advance deposit wagering sites; and at simulcast centers and off-track wagering sites.
The KDFW will be offered for the 15th consecutive year. The KOFW is entering its 11th year and for the fifth consecutive year as a single-pool wager.
With a combined $1,470,019 wagered in the three 2012 KDFW pools, the total was the fourth largest in KDFW history and reflected a wagering increase of 7.9% over the three-pool total of $1,362,101 in 2011. The total was the largest since the wager shifted to its current three-day, Friday-through-Sunday format in 2010 after previously being conducted over a four-day period.
Bettors also wagered $92,476 during the three days of 2012 Kentucky Oaks Future betting, which was the third-highest wagering total during the five years that the Oaks wager was conducted in a three-day format.
"We were very encouraged by the strength of our Kentucky Derby Future Wager pools in 2012, and our 2013 Kentucky Derby and Oaks Future bet schedules were formulated along those same lines," said Churchill Downs president Kevin Flanery. "We think and hope that there will be continued growth in interest in both races as racing fans of all types and skill levels follow the new point systems for the 'Road to the Kentucky Derby' and 'Road to the Kentucky Oaks' that will for the first time determine which horses will compete in those races."
Each pool of the Derby and Oaks wagers feature 24 wagering interests that include 23 individual horses and a mutuel field, or "All Others." The mutuel field features all 3-year-olds other than the 23 individual Thoroughbreds in the pool.
Both wagers offer $2 minimum win and exacta wagering. Exactas are available in the form of $2 minimum straight bets or $1 minimum boxes and part-wheels. No scratches or betting refunds are permitted in either wager, but wagering on a listed horse will be suspended immediately if Churchill Downs determines that injury, illness, or other circumstance revealed during a pool would prevent a horse from competing.
The fields for each pool will be selected by a panel of racing officials and journalists. Information on the Kentucky Derby is available online at the official event website at www.KentuckyDerby.com and real-time odds will be presented on that site throughout each 2013 three-day pool. The Kentucky Oaks' official event website is www.KentuckyOaks.com. Real time odds will be presented on that site throughout the 2013 KOFW pool.