Ralph Siraco’s notes

Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2000 | 9:57 a.m.

The first Kentucky Derby pari-mutuel future book pool of the year closed on Sunday. Although Las Vegas bettors could not participate in the first of three separate betting pools for this year's Kentucky Derby, the wagering represented just how wide open the first Derby of this mellenium seems to be.

Of course, local players have been able to place futures wagers on the Derby for as long as race books have been accepting bets on the bobtailed nags. But for the first time, Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby, conducted a pari-mutuel futures offering last year with 15 states participating.

This year the bet has been expanded to 25 states with Nevada slated to go on line for Pool Two scheduled for March 9-12. Twenty-three different horses and a 'field' that covered all others eligible for this year's Derby were offered and the betting public eventually determined the final odds for Pool One by 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

The mutuel field, which includes all 3-year-old thoroughbreds other than the 23 individual Kentucky Derby contenders on Pool One's list of wagering interests, closed as the 7/2 favorite. A total of $86,822 was bet on the 'field' that included a single bet of $51,000. The anonymous player made the bet in the opening hours Thursday. The bet was placed in Kentucky from the person who has become known as the 'Lone Star Plunger'.

It seems this same individual placed a $10,000 wager last year -- from Lone Star Park in Texas -- on the field and when Charismatic wound up in the Derby winner's circle, the bettor cashed approximately what he re-wagered on the same field play this year. The overall total for Pool One was $465,454 during the four-day run. By comparison, the combined wagering on the three Kentucky Derby Future Wager pools last year was $676,233.

Even after factoring in the 'Plunger' bet this year, the first pool has outpaced last year's numbers, giving credence that the public will embrace such a bet. Here are the opening/closing odds of the pari-mutuel pool and a comparative opening/closing 'fixed-odds' number offered by the Imperial Palace race book on the same horses late Sunday: Horse

Open-Close/IP Odds