The 2015 Kentucky Derby is just under six months away but the Wynn Las Vegas has already posted futures betting odds for the race. These prices were updated yesterday with several interesting additions.
At the top of the tote board there isn’t much change among the Kentucky Derby betting favorites. American Pharoah is still the favorite at 11/1. The Bob Baffert trained horse had to be scratched from the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile lineup after he freaked out as he was being boarded on a plane for California. The ‘public excuse’ was a bone bruise but American Pharaoh’s reticence toward air travel has been widely reported. That hasn’t done anything to discourage the betting public–they’ve bet the favorite down to 11/1 from an opening price of 40/1. Hard to argue with back to back Grade 1 wins as a two year old (Del Mar Futurity, Frontrunner Stakes).
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Texas Red is finally getting some love from bettors and is now the second favorite at 16/1 followed by Carpe Diem at 20/1. Also at double digit odds: Sky Hero (85/1), Upstart (40/1), Punctuate (40/1), Mawthooq (85/1), Jess’s Dream (60/1), Lord Nelson (65/1), Lucky Player (60/1), Frosted (75/1), Dortmund (45/1), Daredevil (45/1), Cozmic One (60/1), Conquest Tsunami (85/1), Conquest Big Luck E (60/1), Blofeld (30/1), Bold Conquest (75/1), Bronze Star (85/1) and Competitive Edge (40/1).
Entering the list of betting interests is Kenny McPeek trained Jumpin Frac Flash. Jumpin Frac Flash broke his maiden at Churchill Downs this past weekend winning a mile maiden race by 5 lengths and posting a Beyer figure of 87 in the process. Jumpin Frac Flash is added to the betting board at 200/1 and given his impressive debut expect his price to drop.
The fastest climbing horse on the Kentucky Derby betting ‘hit parade’ is Bob Baffert trained Dortmund. He won his debut on November 2 by 4 1/2 lengths. He opened at 150/1 and was bet down to 60/1 prior to his maiden victory. He’s now dropped to 45/1. He’s the son of 2008 Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown. Dortmund is owned by Kaleem Shah–he also owns Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Bayern and clearly has a fondness for German Bundesliga soccer. Both names are derived from teams that play in what many consider the #1 league in the sport (Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich).