Champion Forte Slated As Favorite When Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 5 Opens Friday

On the heels of winning his 3-year-old debut in the $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes (Grade II), Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable’s Forte was tabbed as the 4-1 overall morning line betting favorite in Pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which is set for its three-day span Friday-Sunday.

Pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager will run concurrently with the lone pool of the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager. In addition to $2 Win and Exacta betting, an Oaks/Derby Future Double is part of the wagering menu. The wagers will open Friday at noon (all times Eastern) and the Kentucky Derby Future Wager will close Sunday at 6 p.m. while the Oaks Future Wager will close 30 minutes later at 6:30 p.m.

Through the first four pools of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, Forte was tabbed as the individual favorite three times – Pool 2 (10-1); Pool 3 (7-1) and Pool 4 (8-1). In the first pool, Forte closed as the second individual choice at 16-1 behind Extra Anejo (12-1).

Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Forte made his return to the races Saturday and cruised to a 4 ½-length score in the Fountain of Youth. Previously, the talented son of Violence was victorious in the $300,000 Hopeful (GI), $600,000 Breeders’ Futurity (GI) and $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. His impressive resume earned the Eclipse Award for Champion 2-Year-Old.

Here is the complete field for Pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager (with trainer and morning line odds):

POST	HORSE	TRAINER	OPENING ODDS	FINAL ODDS
1	Angel of Empire	Brad Cox	30/1	38/1
2	Arabian Knight	Tim Yakteen	10/1	9/1
3	Arabian Lion	Tim Yakteen	50/1	179/1
4	Blazing Sevens	Chad Brown	40/1	66/1
5	Cagliostro	Cherie DeVaux	99/1	189/1
6	Cairo	Aidan O'Brien	50/1	75/1
7	Classic Car Wash	Mark Casse	99/1	85/1
8	Classic Catch	Todd Pletcher	50/1	179/1
9	Confidence Game	Keith Desormeaux	30/1	30/1
10	Congruent	Antonio Sano	80/1	94/1
11	Cyclone Mischief	Dale Roman	40/1	89/1
12	Denington	Kenny McPeek	80/1	241/1
13	Disarm	Steve Asmussen	99/1	60/1
14	Forte	Todd Pletcher	4/1	3/1
15	Geaux Rocket Ride	Richard Mandella	20/1	30/1
16	General Jim	Shug McGaughey	80/1	65/1
17	Hejazi	Tim Yakteen	40/1	53/1
18	Hit Show	Brad Cox	30/1	28/1
19	Instant Coffee	Brad Cox	30/1	19/1
20	Kingsbarns	Todd Pletcher	50/1	43/1
21	Litigate	Todd Pletcher	50/1	66/1
22	Mage	Gustavo Delgado	80/1	75/1
23	Major Dude	Todd Pletcher	50/1	141/1
24	Mandarin Hero	Terunobu Fujita	50/1	116/1
25	National Treasure	Tim Yakteen	30/1	53/1
26	Perriere	Yoichi Kuroiwa	50/1	59/1
27	Practical Move	Tim Yakteen	8/1	12/1
28	Raise Cain	Ben Colebrook	50/1	66/1
29	Red Route One	Steve Asmussen	40/1	24/1
30	Reincarnate	Tim Yakteen	30/1	24/1
31	Rocket Can	Bill Mott	40/1	42/1
32	Skinner	John Sherriffs	40/1	45/1
33	Sun Thunder	Kenny McPeek	99/1	85/1
34	Tapit Trice	Todd Pletcher	15/1	8/1
35	Tapit's Conquest	Brad Cox	80/1	90/1
36	Two Eagles River	Chris Hartman	80/1	270/1
37	Two Phil's	Larry Rivelli	80/1	88/1
38	Verifying	Brad Cox	50/1	36/1
39	Victory Formation	Brad Cox	80/1	82/1
40	All Other 3-Year-Olds	N/A	5/1	10/1

Overall, there are 18 new entrants in Pool 5 from Pool 4:

Arabian Knight
Arabian Lion
Cagliostro
Cairo
Classic Car Wash
Classic Catch
Congruent
Denington
Hejazi
Major Dude
Mandarin Hero
National Treasure
Perriere
Raise Cain
Reincarnate
Skinner
Sun Thunder
Two Eagles River

Champion Filly Wonder Wheel 8-1 Favorite in Lone Kentucky Oaks Future Wager

In the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager, D J Stable’s Champion Filly Wonder Wheel was made the 8-1 morning line favorite in the field of 39 individual betting interests plus an option for “All Other 3-Year-Old Fillies” from the 2020 foal crop that were not listed.

Trained by Mark Casse, Wonder Wheel made her seasonal debut in the $150,000 Suncoast Stakes where she was heavily backed at odds of 1-2 but was upset by fellow Kentucky Oaks Future Wager contender Dreaming of Snow.

2024 Kentucky Oaks

Along with Wonder Wheel, other top fillies that were incorporated in the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager include Godolphin’s $400,000 Rachel Alexandra (GII) winner Pretty Mischievous and $300,000 Honeybee (GIII) winner Wet Paint; Gold Standard Racing’s flashy multiple stakes winner Hoosier Philly; and Stonestreet Stables’ $250,000 Demoiselle (GII) winner Julia Shining.

Here is the field for the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager (with trainer and morning line odds):

POST	HORSE	TRAINER	OPENING ODDS	FINAL ODDS
1	Affirmative Lady	Graham Motion	99/1	76/1
2	Ami Please	Doug O'Neill	99/1	113/1
3	And Tell Me Nolies	Peter Miller	40/1	61/1
4	Asset Purchase	Chad Brown	30/1	106/1
5	Atomically	Todd Pletcher	50/1	94/1
6	Blessed Touch	Tim Yakteen	50/1	159/1
7	Botanical	Brad Cox	20/1	31/1
8	Capella	Brad Cox	40/1	121/1
9	Chop Chop	Brad Cox	40/1	89/1
10	Clearly Unhinged	Michael McCarthy	40/1	67/1
11	Condensation	Chris Hartman	40/1	164/1
12	Dorth Vader	Mike Yates	20/1	26/1
13	Dreaming of Snow	Gerald Bennett	30/1	48/1
14	Flashy Gem	Brad Cox	40/1	129/1
15	Flying Connection	Todd Fincher	50/1	150/1
16	Gaming Girl	Todd Pletcher	50/1	66/1
17	Grand Love	Steve Asmussen	50/1	105/1
18	Guns 'n Graces	Chad Brown	40/1	20/1
19	Homecoming Queen	Rodolphe Brisset	99/1	298/1
20	Hoosier Philly	Tom Amoss	15/1	7/1
21	Interpolate	Chad Brown	30/1	163/1
22	Julia Shining	Todd Pletcher	12/1	14/1
23	Justique	John Shirreffs	40/1	69/1
24	Merlazza	Brad Cox	99/1	229/1
25	Mimi Kakushi	Salem Bin Ghadayer	80/1	39/1
26	Miracle	Todd Pletcher	20/1	55/1
27	Munnys Gold	Todd Pletcher	30/1	24/1
28	Occult	Chad Brown	20/1	36/1
29	Pretty Mischievous	Brendan Walsh	10/1	15/1
30	Punchbowl	Brad Cox	20/1	11/1
31	Red Carpet Ready	Rusty Arnold	15/1	46/1
32	Royal Spa	Rodolphe Brisset	50/1	224/1
33	Seduction	Todd Pletcher	50/1	125/1
34	She's Lookin Lucky	Matt Shirer	30/1	132/1
35	Shidabhuti	Chad Brown	15/1	40/1
36	Southlawn	Norm Casse	20/1	147/1
37	The Alys Look	Brad Cox	15/1	36/1
38	Wet Paint	Brad Cox	12/1	4/1
39	Wonder Wheel	Mark Casse	8/1	6/1
40	All Other 3-Year-Old Fillies	N/A	15/1	14/1

The $3 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (GI) is set for Saturday, May 6 and the $1.25 million Longines Kentucky Oaks will run one day prior on Friday, May 5.

There are no refunds in the Kentucky Derby or Oaks Future Wagers. Should Churchill Downs officials determine during the duration of this week’s three-day pool that one of the wagering interests has experienced an injury, illness or other circumstance that would prevent the horse from participating in the Kentucky Derby or Oaks, betting on the individual horse will be suspended immediately.

Following this pool, there will be one additional opportunity for fans to bet early on this year’s Kentucky Derby contenders. Pool 6 will span March 30-April 1.