Tips

Tips

With three Kentucky Oaks future wagers this year, the sixth year of the Oaks Future Wager promises to be the most exciting and lucrative yet. For horseplayers, the questions are how to make money, have fun and win some bragging rights via some nice scores on the Future Wager. With just five full years of history for the Oaks pool, we can take a look at some trends in the Derby Future Wager pools and attempt to apply them to the Oaks Future Wager.

The Winners

In the Derby pools, the first nine years of the Future Wager are split between nice payouts on contenders and mutuel field horses that caught everyone by surprise. Although a small sample, this shows that there are two ways to make money, and it pays to consider both. In 2001 and 2000, Fusaichi Pegasus and Monarchos were available at generous prices in pool #1 compared to their starting prices on Derby day. In 1999 and 2002, Charismatic and War Emblem came out of nowhere to give the field players the money. In 2003, Funny Cide was a tremendous price as a single wagering interest in all three pools; paying considerably more to his future wager backers than his Derby Day mutuel of $27.60. The best of both worlds is to take two or three shots at some contenders with nice prices, and then use a sizeable field bet to hedge your bet. Come Derby day, chances are you will have more than 50% of the horses, and a variety of ways to collect.

The Goal

Since it is difficult enough to select the Oaks winner on the first Friday in May, the Future Wager can seem daunting at first. But with this wager, the goal is somewhat different. Rather than a quest to single out the one horse that will wear the lillies at Churchill Downs, the goal is to wager on horses that will start in the Kentucky Oaks at a price considerably less than what is offered through the Future Wager. As they load in the gate on Oaks day, if you are holding a ticket at 35-1 on a horse that is racing at 8-1 odds, then you have played the wager correctly, win or lose.

In order to focus on horses with the best opportunity to start in the Oaks, stay away from horses with reasons not to run in the Oaks, such as foreign horses and sprinter-types. With the overseas runners, we have to question their commitment to running. If they are only 50-50 to run, then you need to make sure you are getting a fair price. In the same way, if a classy two-year-old with possible distance limitations is only 50-50 to stretch out to a mile-and-a-quarter, then you have to factor that into the future wager price you are looking for. Not to mention, if the sprinter fails to stretch out to a mile-and-an-eighth in one of the Oaks preps, you might be holding a worthless ticket long before Oaks day.

One of the better Future Wager selections is a native three-year-old that will stretch out to the Oaks distance with connections committed to run in the Oaks. The only variable this leaves out is talent, and that is the one to wager on.

The mutuel field, Pool #1

Any discussion of the Future Wager must involve the mutuel field, especially in Pool #1. The importance of the field in pool #1 should not be underestimated. Although many players dismiss the field because of the low odds of 5-2 to 2-1, it can be an excellent price if you have more than half the field at that number come post time. This is significant because it means you are virtually guaranteed to get a good run for your money on Oaks day.

Since we have such a small sampling for the Oaks Future Wager, we'll look to the Derby pool for some examples. Although War Emblem paid $43 on this own in 2002, this is not a fair comparison to holding a $7.60 ticket on the field. The 2002 Pool #1 field wager produced thirteen Oaks starters each at $2.80-1. This is equivalent to wagering on 13 horses at 48-1. (If you bet $26 on the field at $2.80-1, your return would be $98.80. Similarly, if you bet all 13 field horses at 48.40-1, you would be spending $26 for a return of $98.80. So, in 2002 the end result was like getting an average of 48-1 on each field horse.)

Now 48-1 on War Emblem (20-1, Oaks day) doesn't sound so impressive, but when you add Proud Citizen (23-1), Perfect Drift (7-1), Medaglia d'Oro (6-1), Essence of Dubai (10-1), Castle Gandolfo (14-1) and seven others all for the price of 48-1 -- then the value starts to add up.

Getting a good position on the field is important, as this can also provide the confidence to attack your personal favorites on Oaks Day. In other words, the field doesn't have to win in order for you to make money Oaks Day. For instance, with field #1 providing 13 of 18 runners in 2002, this would leave you plenty of money to pick your favorite among Saarland, Johannesburg, Came Home, Harlan's Holiday and Request for Parole and then wager with confidence.

Timing

It's true that the best time to bet the Future Wager is just before closing time at 6:30 pm EST on Sunday. That is the time the most information is available. Also, it is important to note that if you bet at 5 minutes to close, and there is enough money in the pool (usually $50,000 or more) the odds are not likely to change much, if at all. What this means is that your odds are basically 'fixed' as they are in Las Vegas. If you need to bet early, it's best to wait to see the results of Saturday's prep races. This is less important if you are not wagering on one of the horses running on Saturday.

Overlays

Remember that this is a 24 horse wager with only a 16% takeout. This means that unless the public correctly assesses the chances of all 24 betting interests, overlays will exist. In 2003, Funny Cide was a glaring example of this. While he had not won a race as a three-year-old, he really had never run a bad race in his life. And his odds in each of his 2003 races indicated that the bettors believed he had talent. In the Holy Bull in January, he was 5-1, yet in the subsequent Pool 1 he was a whopping 93-1. In his next start, the Louisiana Derby in March he went off at 6-1; Pool 2 closed a week later with his final odds at more than 59-1. Finally, Pool 3 closed with his odds at nearly 53-1, yet a week later he runs second to the prohibitive Oaks favorite, Empire Maker in the Wood Memorial, and at 5-1! Therefore, no matter how difficult it may seem to assess the chances of young three-year-olds, the existence of overlays is almost assured. The trick is finding them.

Putting it all Together
The field is a good bet as long as it is 5-2 or higher. If you ask what is the best way to play the wager? Briefly, with $200 to spend, you might bet $100 to win on the field, and use the other $100 to split between your top two or three choices. Good luck!