Sunday, February 12, 2012

FAVORED ‘ALL OTHERS’, UNION RAGS ATTRACT STRONG SUPPORT AS BRISK BETTING CONTINUES

LOUISVILLE, KY. (Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012) – Fans of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) continued their strong support for both the “All Others” (#24) option and talented Champagne Stakes (GI) winner Union Rags (#23) on Saturday, and brisk betting at racetracks and online pushed total wagering well past the $300,000 mark with one day remaining in the opening pool of Churchill Downs’ Kentucky Derby Future Wager (“KDFW”).

Total betting after two days of the first of three 2012 KDFW pools stood at $331,059 late Saturday evening, which included $102,492 in support of the mutuel field wagering option that includes all 3-year-old Thoroughbreds other than the 23 individual horses on the pool’s roster of wagering interests. That made “All Others” the 6-5 fans’ choice after two days of betting in 2012’s opening pool. The mutuel field, the Pool 1 bettors’ choice every year since the Derby Future bet was introduced in 1999, was the odds-on 3-5 favorite after Friday’s opening round of betting.


The two-day betting total included $273,517 in win wagering and exacta betting that totaled $57,542.

Union Rags, runner-up to Hansen (#12) both in voting for champion 2-year-old of 2011 and in the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (GI), closed Saturday’s betting at 7-1 to remain the clear individual choice to win the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 5 at Churchill Downs. Trailing Union Rags were two of four Pool 1 horses trained by Todd Pletcher: unbeaten Holy Bull (GIII) winner Algorithms (#1) at 13-1 and El Padrino (#7) at 16-1. Withers (GIII) winner Alpha (#2) and Norfolk (GI) winner Creative Cause (#4) were next at 17-1 and 19-1, respectively. Champion Hansen and unbeaten Gemologist (#11), another Pletcher trainee, each stood at 25-1.

The Kentucky Derby Future Wager offers fans an opportunity to bet on candidates for the Kentucky Derby, America’s greatest race and one of the world’s premier sports events, well in advance of this year’s running of the famed 1 ¼-mile classic for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds. Future Wager fans will receive odds on their respective horse or horses that are in place at the conclusion of wagering in each of the three 2012 KDFW pools, and those odds could be significantly higher and more attractive than those available on Kentucky Derby Day.

Betting on the final day of KDFW Pool 1 at racetracks and off-track betting centers, along with TwinSpires.com and other online outlets, opens at noon Sunday (all times Eastern). The pool will close at 6 p.m.

All bets in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager are $2 minimum wagers, and there are no refunds on any wager placed during a Derby Future pool. If it is determined during any of the three 2012 Derby Future pools that an individual betting interest has suffered an illness, injury or other circumstance that would prevent that horse from competing in the Kentucky Derby, wagering on that betting interest will be suspended immediately.

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