There is an interesting wager that I have played over the last several years encompassing two races at Churchill over two days – the Oaks on Friday and the Derby on Saturday.

The ‘Oaks/Derby Double’ has been a way that some value can be found where there typically is an overwhelming, and rightfully so, favorite. Though many of my cohorts haven’t even heard of the wager, the public has, with the pool growing to over $2 million in the last few years. The double has been great fun for me, as there is an extra ‘live’ ticket going into the Derby and it has cashed twice for me in recent years.

In ’04  The play was Ahsado (Oaks) with Smarty Jones (Derby) paying over $60. In ’06 the wager was ultra wide with 5 horses in the Oaks over Barabaro. Unfortunately, Lemons Forever was not one of them. The longest shot on the board cashed at 47-1 and the play paid $890.00 – making me a fan of this wager forever. I got back on the winning side last year with ticket that cashed for $37.80 with Proud Spell and three others over Big Brown.

This year however the play is upside down – the prohibitive favorite is #6 Rachel Alexandra in the Oaks (Friday, May 1 – Churchill Race 11). The Derby field is wide open but this filly at under whelming odds of 3/5 makes for a bullet in this double. This is one wager where you can find value in a horse where there just is none.

Take any of the horses you like in the Derby as the backend end of the Oaks/Derby Double  and you should find pretty good value. Whether you like any of the Derby favorites such as I want Revenge, Dunkirk, Pioneer of the Nile or Friesan Fire or a handful of longer priced horses, couple them with Rachel Alexandra in the Oaks/Derby double and add that into your pile of potential winners come Derby Day.