Oaks News

Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor's Rags to Riches, the Todd Pletcher-trained winner of the Las Virgenes (Grade I) and Santa Anita Oaks (GI) at Santa Anita, stood as a solid favorite following the first day of Pool 3 of Churchill Downs' 2007 Kentucky Oaks Future Wager ("KOFW") as the pool opened its four-day run on Thursday.

The daughter of A.P. Indy was the 5-2 choice of bettors at racetracks and satellite wagering outlets across North America and Canada when betting on the opening day of the April 12-15 pool concluded at 11 p.m. (all times EDT) on Thursday evening. Rags to Riches entered the four-day pool as the 2-1 favoring in Churchill Downs' handicapper Mike Battaglia's morning line odds for Pool 3.

But Pletcher's filly was far from an overwhelming choice on Pool 3's opening day as Kentucky Oaks fans showed solid support for Anita Ebert's High Heels, the impressive winner of the Fantasy (GII) at Oaklawn Park and the 5-1 second choice, and Starlight Stable and Paul Lucarelli's Octave, runner-up in the Ashland (GI) and the third choice at 6-1. The mutuel field, which includes all 3-year-old fillies other than the 23 individual horses in KDFW Pool 3, ended the day at odds of 8-1.

A total of $5,410 was wagered during the first of four days of betting in the April 12-15 pool. Betting is set to resume at noon (all times EDT) on Friday, April 13 and the pool is scheduled to close at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.

The Kentucky Oaks Future Wager, which is now in its fifth year, allows racing fans to wager on contenders for the $500,000 Kentucky Oaks (GI) at odds that could be significantly better than those they would receive on the day of the race. The wager is a $2 minimum bet and a win wager only. There are no refunds in the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager and winning payouts on the day of the race will be based on the odds that are in place at the conclusion of each respective KOFW pool.

The 133rd running of the $500,000 added Kentucky Oaks (GI) is scheduled for Friday, May 4 at Churchill Downs.

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