New names for Pool 4

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Eight new names are in the lineup for the fourth and final pool of the 2018 Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which opens Friday at noon Eastern for the customary three-day run.

With three major Derby preps set for Saturday – the Wood Memorial, Blue Grass, and Santa Anita Derby – many bettors will be waiting until after results of those races are known to place their wagers, given that odds are not locked in until the pool closes Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern.

The Pool 4 morning line as set forth by Churchill Downs has Bolt d’Oro as a 5-1 favorite over Audible (6-1) and Justify (6-1), but the odds board could shift dramatically depending on what transpires Saturday in the prep races. Win ($2 minimum) and exacta wagering ($1 boxes or part-wheels) are available.

The new names for Pool 4 are Enticed, Gronkowski, Hofburg, Lone Sailor, Mississippi, Quip, Runaway Ghost, and Title Ready. Enticed (Pools 1 and 2) and Quip (Pool 1) were listed separately in previous pools, but both were excluded from Pool 3.

Also displaced from Pool 3 were Avery Island, Catholic Boy, Gold Town, Kanthaka, McKinzie, Sporting Chance, Strike Power, and Vino Rosso.

The mutuel field, the 24th or “all others” option, closed as the favorite in the three previous pools: at 6-5 in Pool 1 (Nov. 23-26), at 5-2 in Pool 2 (Feb. 9-11), and at 4-1 in Pool 3 (March 9-11). Churchill lists the field at 10-1 on the Pool 4 morning line.

Not counting the Derby Sires futures held concurrent with Pool 1 or the Kentucky Oaks futures held concurrent with Pool 3, aggregate handle on the first three Kentucky Derby Future Wager pools stands at $1,166,670. This is the 20th year that parimutuel futures have been offered by Churchill Downs, with the record for aggregate handle of $1,665,990 being set in 2005. Aggregate handle toward the 2017 Derby was $1,409,856.

Last year, McCraken closed as the 5-1 favorite in Derby Pool 4 over the eventual Derby winner, Always Dreaming (6-1).

Real-time odds and will-pays are available through various modes, including on television monitors at tracks and wagering outlets, as well as at kentuckyderby.com.

In the case of field horses filling both exacta slots, the next-best finish by a separately listed horse counts toward the winning combination.

The 144th Derby will be run May 5.