Gunnevera, McCraken co-favorites in KY Derby future wagers
The final Kentucky Derby future wager pool closes today with McCraken and Gunnevera sharing co-favorite status at 6 to 1. And if the Derby was to be run next Saturday, with today’s closing odds as an indicator of who would win, it would be difficult to separate the top four at post time.
Second choice at 7 to 1 is Always Dreaming, who defeated heavily favored Gunnevera in the Florida Derby off back-to-back strong performances. He first won a maiden special weight by 11 at Tampa in January. Followed by a return to the winner’s circle in early March after setting dawdling fractions in a 1 1/8 mile OC$75K at Gulfstream in a final time of 1:53.2.
After his Florida Derby win, Always Dreaming immediately dropped from 18 to 12 points in the future wager pool before closing out the day at 7 where he opens this morning.
Currently third choice at 8 to 1 is Classic Empire winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last November. He was the early favorite when betting began yesterday. But slowly drifted up as the results of the Florida Derby and Girvin’s win in the Louisiana Derby were made official yesterday.
Speaking of Girvin, as far as early bettors are concerned his victory didn’t do much to help his chances of winning in Louisville on May 6, as he’s currently 18 to 1 in future wagering.
Don’t expect to see much, if any, change in the current odds by the time Pool 4 closes this afternoon. But you should take note of the fact that Always Dreaming completed the Florida Derby distance in a final time of 1:47.47 which was the fastest since Alydar was clocked in 1:47.00 in 1978.
