Eight Belles Favored in Final Pool of Future Wager

Fox Hill Farms’ Eight Belles, who made Sunday’s $250,000 Fantasy Stakes (Grade II) at Oaklawn Park her fourth consecutive victory, emerged as a narrow favorite over a closely matched group of contenders when betting on the third and final pool of Churchill Downs’ 2008 Kentucky Oaks Future Wager concluded on Sunday evening.

The J. Larry Jones trainee was the pool’s 5-1 favorite although her gritty victory in the Fantasy came nearly 30 minutes after the conclusion of four days of Pool 3 betting at 6:30 p.m. (EDT).   She claimed the favorite’s role after an eventful running of the $500,000 Ashland Stakes (GI) at Keeneland on Saturday saw longshots Little Belle and Bsharpsonata finish 1-2 while Proud Spell and Country Star, the morning line favorites for Pool 3 of the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager, finished third and fifth, respectively.  

Despite the loss, Fair Grounds Oaks (GI) winner Proud Spell closed as the 6-1 second choice in Pool 3.  Country Star was next at 7-1, while four-time stakes winner Bsharpsonata and Pure Clan, the third-place finisher in the Fantasy, were next at 8-1.

A total of $47,116 was wagered during Pool 3’s April 3-6 run.  Betting on the three pools of the 2008 Kentucky Oaks Future Wager totaled $174,838, the second-highest betting total since a three-pool format was adopted in 2004.  Winning payouts for Pool 3 will be based on the odds in place at the close of the pool.

The Kentucky Oaks Future Wager is a minimum $2 wager and a win bet only.  It offered fans the opportunity to bet on contenders for the Kentucky Oaks at odds that could be greater than those they would receive on the day of the race.  There are no refunds in the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager.  The 134th running of the $500,000-added Kentucky Oaks (GI) is set for May 2 at Churchill Downs.

Odds on Ashland winner Little Belle dropped sharply after the A.P. Indy filly’s upset victory over an elite field at Keeneland  The Kiaran McLaughlin trainee, a 30-1 shot in morning line odds for the pool, had seen her odds drift as high as 50-1 after the second day of betting, but that price tumbled to 11-1 at the conclusion of Pool 3 betting.  Also closing at 11-1 was the mutuel field, which included all 3-year-old fillies other than the 23 individual betting interests in Pool 3.  Bonnie Miss (GII) winner Shes All Eltish closed at 12-1, while Las Virgenes (GI) winner Golden Doc A stood at 15-1.