The first open stakes of the meet, the $225,000 Thanksgiving Classic, has evolved into a graded quality race in recent years, and the 2024 edition of the six-furlong dash is a case in point.

When betting closed on Sunday, “All Other Three Year Olds” was the overall 2-1 favorite in Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 4.

Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 3 saw “All Other Three-Year-Old Males” close as the overall favorite, with Forte the preferred individual choice.

Most of the pre-race attention in Saturday night’s $400,000 Remington Springboard Mile fell upon well-regarded shippers Giant Mischief and Echo Again, but Wildatlanticstorm proved to be the star of the show, driving to a 1 1/4-length victory.

Added to the Road to the Kentucky Derby series in 2017, the $400,000 Remington Springboard Mile S. has yet to make much impact upon the first leg of the Triple Crown, but Saturday’s edition features a couple of prospects with serious Kentucky Derby aspirations.

The closing of Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 2 and the Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager provided a burst of intrigue for Derby-focused horseplayers.

Sure to be voted champion two-year-old after his Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) victory, Forte will open Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW) on Thursday as the 10-1 choice among individual interests.