Local Derby Contenders Offer Future Wager Value

Entering the final day of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager's Pool 1, top 3-year-olds based at or expected to run at Fair Grounds are offering exceptional value.

Here are the current odds on those horses, as of the end of Saturday's wagering:

Drosselmeyer, 25-1

Maximus Ruler, 90-1

Ron the Greek, 35-1

Stay Put, 59-1

Drosselmeyer has not yet raced at Fair Grounds but is probable for Saturday's Grade II Risen Star Stakes.  The Distorted Humor colt was a very impressive allowance winner at Gulfstream Park last month for trainer Todd Pletcher and owner WinStar Farm.

Maximus Ruler, Ron the Greek and Stay Put are also all probable for the Risen Star. 

Betting on Pool 1 of the Future Wager closes today at 5 p.m. CST. 

All three of the locally based options represent serious threats not only in the Risen Star but to go on and take next month's Louisiana Derby. One of these horses will end up a serious Derby contender, we just haven't seen enough yet to know which one. The public seems to be steering clear of these three in favor of those that ran this weekend and have already proven themselves one step further down the road. I can't say I know which of these New Orleans-based runners will end up in the gate for the Kentucky Derby, but I know any of them could. With the huge prices they're available at I'm going to bet $20 on each of them and just root for the local contingent as a group.