With the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) still 23 weeks away, the pari-mutuel field of "All Other 3-Year-Old Colts and Geldings" closed as the 3-5 favorite in Pool 1 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager and Smile Happy was the 8-1 second choice.
Smile Happy, the 3 1/4-length winner of the Nov. 27 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs, had his odds drop from 15-1 to 9-1 around 5 p.m. ET when Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale, the Houston furniture store owner who campaigned Smile Happy’s sire Runhappy , bet $10,000 to win on the Kentucky-bred colt who is unbeaten in two starts. Additional money flowed late until the 6 p.m. deadline and his odds closed at 8-1.
Jack Christopher (10-1), the impressive Champagne Stakes (G1) winner for trainer Chad Brown who was expected to be the TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1) favorite before he was scratched, is expected to resume training in early 2022 following surgery to heal a left shin stress fracture.
Other horses who attracted mild interest from bettors: Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity (G1) winner Rattle N Roll (21-1); Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) and American Pharoah Stakes (G1) runner-up Pappacap (23-1); Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) runner-up Tiz the Bomb (24-1); and Hopeful Stakes (G1) winner Gunite (25-1).
Total handle for the Nov. 25-28 KDFW pool—the first of five scheduled wagering pools in advance of the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 7—was $326,448 ($263,008 in the Win pool and $63,440 in Exactas), up 30.9% from last year’s $249,331 ($191,984 in the Win Pool and $57,347 in Exactas).
Inaugurated in 1999, the Kentucky Derby Future Wager has been offered for a 24th consecutive year, but this marks just the ninth time that Churchill Downs has hosted a KDFW pool on closing weekend of its fall meet.
This year's early Derby betting menu also included the Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager, which, for the seventh consecutive year, provided bettors with a unique opportunity to wager on select breeding stars and their entire crop of juveniles with the hope of winning next year's Kentucky Derby.
"All Other Sires" at 7-2 and Runhappy at 7-1 attracted the most attention from bettors—and McIngvale, who plunged $3,000 on his prized sire around 5 p.m. to lower his odds from 17-1 to the second betting choice. Gun Runner progeny was the 9-1 third betting choice.
Total betting on the Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager was a record $50,205 ($38,073 in the Win pool and $12,132 in the Exactas), up 5.5% from last year’s $47,567 ($33,269 in the Win pool and $14,298 in Exactas).
The KDFW and Sire Future Wager combined to handle $376,653, a 26.9% jump from last year’s $296,898.
The other Future Wager dates are set for Jan. 21-23 (Pool 2), Feb. 11-13 (Pool 3), March 11-13 (Pool 4), and March 31-April 2 (Pool 5). The lone Kentucky Oaks Future Wager will coincide with Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 4 on March 11-13.
Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 1
| Number | Horse (Trainer) | Odds | $2 Win Will Pays |
| 1 | Ben Diesel (Dallas Stewart) | 66-1 | $134.20 |
| 2 | Classic Causeway (Brian Lynch) | 44-1 | $90.20 |
| 3 | Commandperformance (Todd Pletcher) | 31-1 | $64.80 |
| 4 | Double Thunder (Todd Pletcher) | 72-1 | $147 |
| 5 | Epicenter (Steve Asmussen) | 52-1 | $106.80 |
| 6 | Forced Ranking (Chad Brown) | 138-1 | $279.80 |
| 7 | Giant Game (Dale Romans) | 37-1 | $77.40 |
| 8 | Graphic Detail (Bill Mott) | 133-1 | $269 |
| 9 | Gunite (Steve Asmussen) | 25-1 | $53.80 |
| 10 | Howling Time (Dale Romans) | 43-1 | $89.60 |
| 11 | Jack Christopher (Chad Brown) | 10-1 | $23.20 |
| 12 | Major General (Todd Pletcher) | 43-1 | $88.60 |
| 13 | Mo Donegal (Todd Pletcher) | 37-1 | $77.60 |
| 14 | Osbourne (Ron Moquett) | 155-1 | $312.80 |
| 15 | Oviatt Class (Keith Desormeaux) | 87-1 | $177.20 |
| 16 | Pappacap (Mark Casse) | 23-1 | $49.40 |
| 17 | Rattle N Roll (Kenny McPeek) | 21-1 | $45.80 |
| 18 | Smile Happy (Kenny McPeek) | 8-1 | $19.20 |
| 19 | Tiz the Bomb (Kenny McPeek) | 24-1 | $51 |
| 20 | Trafalgar (Al Stall Jr.) | 98-1 | $198.80 |
| 21 | Varatti (Todd Pletcher) | 54-1 | $111.80 |
| 22 | Zandon (Chad Brown) | 56-1 | $114.40 |
| 23 | All fillies from the 2019 foal crop | 41-1 | $85.20 |
| 24 | All other colts and geldings from the 2019 foal crop | 3-5 | $3.40 |
Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager
| Number | Horse | Odds | $2 Win Will Pays |
| 1 | American Pharoah | 20-1 | $42.60 |
| 2 | Candy Ride | 37-1 | $76.80 |
| 3 | Curlin | 17-1 | $37.80 |
| 4 | Empire Maker | 16-1 | $35.80 |
| 5 | Giant’s Causeway | 24-1 | $51 |
| 6 | Gun Runner | 9-1 | $20 |
| 7 | Into Mischief | 14-1 | $30 |
| 8 | Mastery | 76-1 | $155.80 |
| 9 | Medaglia d’Oro | 32-1 | $66.60 |
| 10 | Munnings | 18-1 | $38 |
| 11 | Not This Time | 23-1 | $48.20 |
| 12 | Nyquist | 40-1 | $83.20 |
| 13 | Pioneerof the Nile | 53-1 | $108.40 |
| 14 | Practical Joke | 33-1 | $69.60 |
| 15 | Quality Road | 10-1 | $23.20 |
| 16 | Runhappy | 17-1 | $16 |
| 17 | Speightstown | 75-1 | $152.40 |
| 18 | Street Sense | 41-1 | $84 |
| 19 | Tapit | 18-1 | $38 |
| 20 | Twirling Candy | 48-1 | $98.80 |
| 21 | Uncle Mo | 25-1 | $53.40 |
| 22 | Union Rags | 29-1 | $60 |
| 23 | Violence | 45-1 | $93.80 |
| 24 | All other sires | 7-2 | $9.60 |
