Edited press release
Justwhistledixie, a romping winner in the Davona Dale (gr. II) at Gulfstream Park last time out, remained the surprising favorite over the high-powered duo of champion Stardom Bound and streaking Rachel Alexandra on Friday, March 13, as Churchill Downs’ 2009 Kentucky Oaks Future Wager reached the midway point of its four-day run.
West Point Thoroughbreds, Lakland Farm and Dee Hubbard’s daughter of Dixie Union remained the 9-5 favorite after two days of betting in the four-day pool. The Kiaran McLaughlin-trained filly notched her fourth consecutive victory with her 3 ¾- length victory in the Davona Dale and had entered the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager as a 12-1 risk in Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia’s morning line odds.
There was a shift in odds for the second and third choices in the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager Pool. Rachel Alexandra, winner of the Golden Rod (gr. II) at Churchill Downs and the expected heavy favorite in Saturday’s $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks (gr. II), saw her odds drop from 5-1 to 4-1 during Friday’s betting. Stardom Bound, the champion 2-year-old filly of 2008 and winner of last week’s Santa Anita Oaks (gr. I), closed at 6-1 on Friday after she had been the the 9-2 second choice in Thursday’s opening day of the pool. The mutuel field, which includes all 3-year-old fillies other than the 23 individual horses on Pool 2’s betting roster, ranked as the 9-1 third choice when Friday’s betting drew to a close.
The Kentucky Oaks Future Wager, $2 minimum wager and a “win” bet only, allows fans to wager on contenders for the 135th Kentucky Oaks (gr. I), scheduled for Friday, May 1 at Churchill Downs.
Betting through two days of the 2009 Kentucky Oaks Future Wager totaled $14,759. Wagering on the Oaks Future Bet is scheduled to resume at noon (all times EDT) on Saturday, March 14. The pool will conclude on Sunday, March 15, at 6:30 p.m., 30 minutes after the close of betting in Pool 2 of the companion Kentucky Derby Future Wager.
Real time odds and other information on the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager are available on the official Kentucky Oaks event Web site at www.kentuckyoaks.com.