Field and Lookin At Lucky co-favorites in final Derby Future Wager

Horseracing Betting Lines

03/28/2010 - Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third and final Kentucky Derby Future Wager closed with a pair of co-favorites and one other betting interest in single digits.

The mutuel field and champion colt Lookin At Lucky both finished at odds of 9-2 while 5-1 morning-line favorite Eskendereya held steady at his opening odds.

Lookin At Lucky, trained by Bob Baffert, won the Rebel Stakes earlier this month at Oaklawn Park and is expected to start in Saturday's Santa Anita Derby. The colt was second in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile and was voted 2009 champion two-year-old male. He was 6-1 in the morning-line.

The mutuel field, which included all three-year-olds not listed in the pool, was 8-1 in the morning-line. A bet on the field included the winners from Saturday's two major stakes. The Lane's End Stakes was won by Dean's Kitten and Mission Impazible took the Louisiana Derby.

Trainer Todd Pletcher's Eskendereya won the Fountain of Youth by more than eight-lengths at Gulfstream Park last month. He is being pointed to the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 3.

The 136th Kentucky Derby will be conducted on Saturday, May 1 at Churchill Downs.

Here is the complete list of the 24 betting interests for the final Kentucky Derby Future Wager.

Number Wagering Interest Morning line odds Final odds:

1. Aikenite 50-1 55-1

2. Alphie's Bet 15-1 46-1

3. Awesome Act 15-1 13-1

4. Caracortado 20-1 27-1

5. Connemara 20-1 75-1

6. Conveyance 20-1 19-1

7. Discreetly Mine 20-1 44-1

8. Dublin 15-1 18-1

9. Eskendereya 5-1 5-1

10. Homeboykris 50-1 70-1

11. Ice Box 12-1 19-1

12. Interactif 20-1 26-1

13. Jackson Bend 30-1 46-1

14. Lookin At Lucky 6-1 9-2

15. Make Music for Me 30-1 40-1

16. Noble's Promise 12-1 19-1

17. Odysseus 20-1 18-1

18. Pleasant Prince 20-1 38-1

19. Rule 20-1 30-1

20. Schoolyard Dreams 30-1 44-1

21. Sidney's Candy 15-1 22-1

22. Super Saver 20-1 35-1

23. Tempted to Tapit 50-1 45-1

24. All Other 3YOs (field) 8-1 9-2

Vwgas Horseracing Betting News

<< Bucks overcome Grizzlies in OT
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Salmons scored five of his 25 points in overtime and added six rebounds and six assists, as the Milwaukee Bucks escaped with 108-103 win over the Memphis Grizzlies at the Bradley Center. Rookie

<< Lille denies Montpellier top spot in Ligue 1
Lille, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yohan Cabaye converted a penalty kick in the 54th minute to spark a three-goal second half, and Lille beat Montpellier 4-1 on Sunday to deny the promoted side first place in Ligue 1. First-place Bordeaux wa

<< Hawks use strong second half to beat Pacers
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Smith scored 21 points and added 13 rebounds, as the Atlanta Hawks earned a 94-84 win over the Indiana Pacers at Philips Arena. Al Horford went for a double-double with 18 points and 12 boards, w

<< Real edges Atletico in Madrid derby
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Xabi Alonso, Alvaro Arbeloa, and Gonzalo Higuain scored in a 13-minute stretch early in the second half and Real Madrid edged Atletico Madrid 3-2 on Sunday at the Bernabeu in the Madrid derby. Jose Anton

<< Report: Seton Hall makes Iona's Willard hoops coach
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seton Hall has reportedly made Iona's Kevin Willard its next basketball coach. According to The Star-Ledger of Newark, which cited three people with knowledge of the search, Seton Hall has agre

Resurrected Bears fall short in regional final >>
HOUSTON (AP) -Baylor's road of recovery ended one win shy of the Final Four.The Bears lost 78-71 to Duke in Sunday's South Regional final, a disappointing finish to an amazing NCAA tournament run for a program shattered by murder and scandal seven y

Indians' Branyan to start season on DL >>
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Indians first baseman Russell Branyan will start the season on the disabled list due to a herniated disc in his back. "We already made the decision," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "He's goin

U.S. women cruise to 3-0 win over Mexico >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Amy Rodriguez, Shannon Boxx and Lauren Cheney scored and the United States women's soccer team defeated Mexico 3-0 on Sunday in a friendly at Torero Stadium. Rodriguez scored in the 13th minute, Boxx double

United's Rooney, Ferdinand will start vs. Bayern >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand will both be fit enough to start Tuesday's Champions League quarterfinal first leg clash with Bayern

Duke thrives behind arc, tops Baylor for Final Four berth >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nolan Smith finished with 29 points, leading top-seeded Duke back into the Final Four with a 78-71 victory over Baylor in the South Regional final. Duke had not advanced to the Final Four since 2004, but

Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.