Oaks News

Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor's Rags to Riches, the winner of the Las Virgenes (Grade I) and Santa Anita Oaks (GI) at Santa Anita, closed as the strongest favorite in the history of Churchill Downs' Kentucky Oaks Future Wager ("KOFW") as wagering in the bet's third and final pool of 2007 drew to a close early Sunday evening.

The Todd Pletcher-trained daughter of A.P. Indy closed as a record 3-2 favorite in Pool 3 to win the $500,000-added Kentucky Oaks (GI) at Churchill Downs on Friday, May 4. Rags to Riches ended up the heaviest betting favorite in a Kentucky Oaks pool since Sis City closed as the strong 5-2 choice in Pool 3 in 2005. Rags to Riches, a winner of three of four career starts, had entered KOFW Pool 3 as the 2-1 favorite in Churchill Downs' handicapper Mike Battaglia's morning line odds.

Starlight Stable and Paul Lucarelli's Octave, a Pletcher-trained stablemate of the favorite, ended up as Pool 3's second choice at 6-1. Anita Ebert's homebred High Heels, the winner of Oaklawn Park's Fantasy (GII) for Louisville-born trainer Gary Hartlage, was the 10-1 third choice when Pool 3 wagering ended at 6:30 p.m. (EDT) on Sunday.

A total of $71,040 was wagered during Pool 3's April 12-15 run, a record total for a single pool since the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager moved to its three-pool format in 2004. The record performance in Pool 3 helped total betting in the 2007 Kentucky Oaks Future Wager climb to a record $193,086. This year's total eclipsed the previous record of $172,479 set in 2005.

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.

Other betting interests that attracted solid support in Pool 3 of the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager included Phipps Stable's Boca Grande, whose odds tumbled to 13-1 following her sharp victory in Saturday's Comely Stakes (GIII) at Aqueduct; Dogwood Stable's Cotton Blossom, the runner-up in the Fantasy and winner of the Florida Oaks, who closed at 15-1; and the mutuel field, which included all 3-year-old fillies other than the 23 individual horses in Pool 3. The "all others" wager closed at odds of 17-1.

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

Information on the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager can be found at www.kentuckyoaks.com, the official event Web site.

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