Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks Future Wager pools to
begin January 26
For the first time, the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks Future Wager will be
begin in late January, Churchill Downs announced Friday. The two, four-day pools
will run concurrently. Pending final approval from the Kentucky Horse Racing
Authority, the dates for the 2006 Derby and Oaks Future Wager pools are:
Pool 1 — January 26-29
Pool 2 — March 2-5
Pool 3 — April 6-9
The Thursday-Sunday pools for both the Derby and Oaks will open at noon (all
times Eastern). The Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool will close at 6 p.m. on
Sunday and the Kentucky Oaks pool will close a half-hour later at 6:30 p.m.
Previously, the opening pools for each wager had been scheduled for February.
Churchill Downs made the change in an effort to keep the three future pools and
the races themselves separated by about a month. The Kentucky Oaks (G1) is
scheduled for May 5 and the Kentucky Derby (G1) will be decided on the following
day.
The Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks Future Wagers are minimum $2 win-only
wagers. There are no refunds. Winning payouts are based on the odds that are in
place on each wagering interest at the conclusion of each respective pool.
Each pool of the Derby and Oaks Future Wager will include 24 betting
interests that include 23 individual horses. The 24th wagering interest for the
Derby Future Wager is a mutuel field that includes all other three-year-olds,
while the same betting interest in the Oaks Future Wager is a mutuel field that
includes all other three-year-old fillies.