Brother Derek, Barbaro Head Final 2006 Derby Futures Pool

Edited press release
Cecil Peacock's Brother Derek, California's top hope for the Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) and the favorite in this week's Santa Anita Derby (gr. I), and Lael Stable's Barbaro, the unbeaten winner of the Florida Derby (gr. I), are the top two choices in the morning line for this week's final pool of Churchill Downs' 2006 Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW).

(Future wagering on Achilles of Troy, who is injured, has been suspended; his name remains in the pool).

Churchill Downs handicapper Mike Battaglia has installed Brother Derek, winner of the Santa Catalina (gr. II), San Rafael (gr. II), and Hollywood Futurity (gr. I) in his last three starts as the 7-2 choice in his morning line odds for KDFW Pool 3. The California-bred son of Benchmark, trained by Dan Hendricks, is expected to be a strong favorite in Saturday's Santa Anita Derby.

Barbaro, a Kentucky-bred colt by Dynaformer, who is perfect in five races for trainer Michael Matz, is ranked as a close 5-1 second choice. The mutuel field, which includes all 3-year-olds other than the 23 individual horses in the pool's 24 wagering interests, is the 6-1 third choice.

Pool 3 of the KDFW opens its four-day run at noon (all times Eastern) April 6, and will conclude at 6 p.m. April 9. The "all others" wager closed as a strong 3-1 favorite in each of this year's earlier pools.

There are eight wagering interests in the Derby Future bet's final pool that were not included in Pool 2. They are San Felipe (gr. II) winner A. P. Warrior (15-1), who had closed at odds of 31-1 as a betting interest in January's opening pool; unbeaten UAE Derby (gr. II) winner Discreet Cat (15-1); Santa Catalina (gr. II) runner-up Sacred Light (15-1); Florida Derby (gr. I) runner-up Sharp Humor (30-1); Florida Derby third-place finisher Sunriver (30-1); Tampa Bay Derby (gr. III) winner Deputy Glitters (30-1); Lane's End (gr. II) winner With a City (50-1); and Gotham (gr. III) winner Like Now (50-1).

Wagering has been strong in the first two pools of the 2006 Derby Future wager. A total of $464,236 was wagered last month in Pool 2 by Derby fans across North America. It was the second highest betting total for that pool since the wager was introduced in 1999. Total betting in the two 2006 KDFW pools stands at $1,016,863, ranking second only to last year's two-pool total of $1,132,017 in the eight-year history of the Derby Future bet.

2006 KENTUCKY DERBY FUTURE WAGER POOL 3

Program--Horse Name, Odds
1--A. P. Warrior, 15-1
2--(WAGERING SUSPENDED) Achilles of Troy
3--Barbaro, 5-1
4--Bluegrass Cat, 15-1
5--Bob and John, 15-1
6--Brother Derek, 7-2
7--Cause to Believe, 30-1
8--Deputy Glitters, 30-1
9--Discreet Cat, 15-1
10--First Samurai, 12-1
11--Keyed Entry, 30-1
12--Lawyer Ron, 12-1
13--Like Now, 50-1
14--My Golden Song, 30-1
15--Point Determined, 20-1
16--Private Vow, 30-1
17--Sacred Light, 15-1
18--Sharp Humor, 30-1
19--Steppenwolfer, 50-1
20--Strong Contender, 30-1
21--Sunriver, 30-1
22--Sweetnorthernsaint, 50-1
2--With A City, 50-1
24--All Other 3-year-olds, 6-1

Dropped From Pool 2: Barbican, Corinthian, Flashy Bull, Great Point, Itsallboutthechase, Latent Heat, Noonmark, Really Indian

Morning Line Odds by Mike Battaglia