The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission approved three individual pools for the Kentucky Derby Future Wager and one future pool for the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager on Tuesday.

The future pools allow bettors to wager on the top contenders for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) and Kentucky Oaks (G1) months in advance.

The Kentucky Derby is scheduled for May 2 and the Kentucky Oaks will be contested on May 1.

The first Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool will open on February 12 and run through February 15, the second pool will be from March 12 to March 15, and the third pool will be from April 2 to April 5.

Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 1  February 12 through February 15 Pool 2  March 12 through March 15 Pool 3  April 2 through April 5 Kentucky Oaks Future Wager* Pool  March 12 through March 15 * Reduced to one pool after three pools were offered from 2004 to '08

“A wide-open and very competitive Kentucky Derby picture is developing and Churchill Downs is excited to again offer three pools with plenty of betting value in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which has become part of the Derby tradition over the past decade,” said Jim Gates, general manager of Churchill Downs.

The lone Oaks future pool will open on March 12 and run through March 15. The Oaks future pool returns to the one pool format it used in 2003 before switching to a three-pool format in 2004 through ’08.

“We think the single-pool format will provide the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager with its best opportunity to grow and present racing fans a chance to have a lot of fun while searching for the winner of what has become the nation’s most prestigious event for three-year-old fillies,” Gates said.