Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale made $7,000 on smile happily, making his stallion Runhappy’s colt the shortest-priced individual pick 8-1 in Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager.
Click here for a list of 2022 Kentucky Derby candidates.
McIngvale confirmed his bet on Saturday in a text message Sunday evening at: Horse Racing Nation. Almost two months ago, he bet $10,000 on Smile Happy in Pool 1 of the KDFW.
Smile Happy, owned by Michael J. Mackin’s Lucky Seven Stable and trained by Kenny McPeek, was the 3 1/4-length winner of the $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) at Churchill Downs in November.
With the Derby still 15 weeks away, the pari-mutuel field of “all other 3-year-olds” closed out as the 9-5 favourite. The field for the first pool of the new year has been closed every year as the bettors’ pick since the future bet was inaugurated in 1999.
Other horses that drew interest from punters included McPeek’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf runner-up Tiz the Bomb (10-1), Champagne (G1) winner Jack Christopher (14-1), first-fee winner Chasing Time (17 -1). ) and debut maiden winner Emmanuel (17-1).
Horses ranked by the public’s bet choice were:
| KDFW Pool 2 | Trainer | ML | free | Za | Sun | $2 will pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24. All other 3 year olds | 7-5 | 1-1 | 2-1 | 9-5 | $5.80 | |
| 18. Smile happily | Kenny McPeek | 8-1 | 9-1 | 6-1 | 8-1 | $18.00 |
| 19. Tiz the Bomb | Kenny McPeek | 20-1 | 20-1 | 7-1 | 10-1 | $22.80 |
| 10. Jack Christopher | Chad Brown | 10-1 | 12-1 | 13-1 | 14-1 | $30.00 |
| 1. Chase Tme | Steve Asmussen | 20-1 | 11-1 | 13-1 | 17-1 | $36.40 |
| 6. Emmanuel | Todd Pletcher | 50-1 | 33-1 | 19-1 | 17-1 | $37.60 |
| 15. Rattle N Roll | Kenny McPeek | 30-1 | 34-1 | 31-1 | 20-1 | $42.60 |
| 17. Slow Down Andy | Doug O’Neill | 15-1 | 24-1 | 25-1 | 20-1 | $43.00 |
| 13. Mo Donegal | Todd Pletcher | 12-1 | 29-1 | 21-1 | 23-1 | $48.20 |
| 7. Epicenter | Steve Asmussen | 15-1 | 34-1 | 25-1 | 24-1 | $51.20 |
| 14. Pappacap | Mark Cassé | 20-1 | 18-1 | 20-1 | 24-1 | $51.20 |
| 23. Zandon | Chad Brown | 12-1 | 37-1 | 39-1 | 25-1 | $52.00 |
| 8. Giant game | Dale Romans | 30-1 | 27-1 | 29-1 | 28-1 | $59.00 |
| 5. Dash Attack | Kenny McPeek | 20-1 | 31-1 | 34-1 | 34-1 | $70.80 |
| 9. Tall Oak | Bill Mott | 50-1 | 51-1 | 36-1 | 38-1 | $78.80 |
| 4. Courvoisier | Kelly Breen | 30-1 | 30-1 | 35-1 | 39-1 | $81.60 |
| 11. Major General | Todd Pletcher | 50-1 | 58-1 | 42-1 | 41-1 | $84.40 |
| 3. Command Achievements | Todd Pletcher | 50-1 | 45-1 | 44-1 | 41-1 | $85.00 |
| 16. Simplification | Anthony Sano | 30-1 | 75-1 | 64-1 | 43-1 | $89.60 |
| 21. Reserve | Todd Pletcher | 50-1 | 52-1 | 50-1 | 47-1 | $97.40 |
| 2. Classic Causeway | Brian Lynch | 30-1 | 78-1 | 57-1 | 51-1 | $105.60 |
| 20. Trafalgar | AlStall Jr. | 50-1 | 99-1 | 62-1 | 77-1 | $156.60 |
| 12. Make it big | Saffie Joseph Jr. | 50-1 | 99-1 | 88-1 | 85-1 | $172.80 |
| 22. White Abarrio | Saffie Joseph Jr. | 50-1 | 99-1 | 99-1 | 171-1 | $344.20 |
The total for the Friday-Sunday KDFW pool, the second of five planned betting pools ahead of the May 7 Derby run, was $361,209, including $273,712 in the win pool and $87,497 in the exact axis, an increase from 12.2 percent from last year’s $322,035, including $240,768 in the profit pool and $81,267 in the exacta.
The other future betting dates are set for February 11-13 (Pool 3), March 11-13 (Pool 4) and March 31-April 2 (Pool 5). The only Kentucky Oaks Future Wager coincides with Pool 4.