GAME WINNER was a lukewarm 9-2 favorite after the first of three days of betting into Pool 3 of the 2019 Kentucky Derby Future Wager.

After Friday wagering, and with $54,059 in the win pool, Game Winner was favored over the mutuel field, the 24th or “all others" option, which settled in at 7-1. Then came WAR OF WILL (8-1), BOURBON WAR (9-1), IMPROBABLE (10-1), CODE OF HONOR (14-1), and INSTAGRAND (14-1). Another $15,491 had been bet in exactas.

Game Winner, the reigning divisional champion, had been scheduled to race Saturday in the San Felipe at Santa Anita, along with his Bob Baffert-trained stablemate, Improbable. However, their respective next starts have been delayed because of the indefinite closure of Santa Anita. 

Win and exacta wagering are available as usual in Pool 3, with odds and will-pays locked in only when the pool closes Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern. Five of the individually listed horses in Pool 3 are expected to be in action Saturday: DREAM MAKER, WELL DEFINED, and WIN WIN WIN in the Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs; and Instagrand and MIND CONTROL in the Gotham at Aqueduct.

The field closed as the 6-5 favorite in Pool 1, which drew total handle of $258,389 when held Nov. 22-25 in tandem with the Derby Sires Future Wager. The field was the 5-2 favorite in Pool 2, which drew handle of $533,977 when held Feb. 8-10. The fourth and final pool will be held April 5-7.

Combined handle on Pool 3 in 2018 was $394,763, up nearly 6 percent over the corresponding pool in 2017.

Pool 3 coincides with the only futures pool toward the 2019 Kentucky Oaks, with an Oaks-Derby double future wager being offered for the second year. Both the Oaks and Oaks-Derby double pools close 30 minutes after Pool 3 on Sunday.

Through Friday, with $11,862 in the win pool, BELLAFINA was the 3-1 favorite in the Oaks futures, followed by JAYWALK (6-1), CHASING YESTERDAY (7-1), the field (9-1), SERENGETI EMPRESS (12-1), and MOTION EMOTION (13-1). Another $10,740 had been bet into the Oaks-Derby double. Exacta handle was unavailable as of 7 a.m. ET Saturday.

Last year in the Oaks pool, the field closed as a 5-1 favorite, while the eventual winner, Monomoy Girl, closed at 6-1. Combined win and exacta handle was $70,993.

The Oaks-Derby double futures handled $69,725 when held for the first time last year. The eventual $2 payoff for the combination of Monomoy Girl and Justify was $71. The first year for Oaks futures was 2003.

In the case of field horses filling both exacta slots, the next-best finish by a separately listed horse will count toward the winning combination.

The Oaks is set for May 3 and the Derby for May 4.