Kentucky Derby odds: Sierra Leone must fight a futures curse

Sierra Leone will be out to conquer a February curse that hasreared its head for a quarter-century of Kentucky Derby betting history.

His Grade 2 Risen Star triumph Saturday in the slop at FairGrounds vaulted Sierra Leone to the top of the Derby futures market. In fixed-oddswagering in Nevada, he shortened from 18-1 to best odds of 7-1 at Circa Sportsand from 19-2, or plus 950, to 5-1 at Caesars Sportsbook.

It was in the pari-mutuel Kentucky Derby Future Wager runnationally by Churchill Downs where Sierra Leone moved onto a jinxed pedestal.He closed Sunday at 6-1 in pool 4, making him the individual favorite. Thehorses holding that February distinction all but one year since 1999 never havewon the Derby. The lone exception was 2006, when there was no February KDFW.

The all-others option that includes horses other than the 39individuals in the KDFW closed at 5-1. The February mutuel field, which excluded23 horses per pool before last year, has cashed on Derby day four times in thelast six years.

These were the top three betting choices in each of the February pools since the KDFW began in 1999, with eventual winners noted by asterisks:

Last week’s favorite Dornoch, the Remsen (G2) winner who isexpected to make his 2024 debut March 2 in the Fountain of Youth (G2) atGulfstream Park, drifted to 11-1 best odds in Las Vegas after closing at 9-1 inthe KDFW.

Eclipse Award winner Fierceness, who had been the consensusfavorite before his third-place finish in the Holy Bull (G3), widened to 20-1in Las Vegas and was 16-1 in the national pari-mutuels.

Locked, who is expected to face Dornoch in the Fountain ofYouth, also closed at 16-1 in the KDFW, but he carried more bearish odds of40-1 in Nevada. It was the opposite story for Risen Star runner-up TrackPhantom. Although he wound up 20-1 in the KDFW, he shortened to 10-1 in Las Vegas.

Japan-based Forever Young carries the shortest Kentucky Derbyodds of horses who are racing this week. The winner of the Nisai Yushun, whowill line up in Saturday’s Saudi Derby (G3) in Riyadh, went from 25-1 to 22-1 atCirca and finished at 21-1 in the KDFW.

Timberlake, the 6-5 morning-line favorite for Saturday’s Rebel(G2) at Oaklawn, drifted to 35-1 in Nevada after closing as the third individualchoice at 15-1 in the national wager.

Drip, a debut winner for trainer Whit Beckman last week atFair Grounds, opened at 50-1 at Circa and was one of the eight new namesintroduced to the futures market. Fourteen horses were dropped, leaving 187individual horses in the pools.

These were the Kentucky Derby 2024 futures odds Wednesdaymorning at Caesars and Circa as well as the closing prices Sunday from pool 3of the KDFW. The betting options are listed in order of their best odds.