May 1 (Bloomberg) -- A bet two months ago on Kentucky Derby favorite I Want Revenge would return a 1,375 percent gain at current odds.

I Want Revenge was listed with 54-1 odds on Feb. 15 in the first of three Kentucky Derby future wager pools, meaning a winning $1 bet would return $54 plus the initial stake. The three-year-old colt is now the morning-line favorite at 3-1 for tomorrow’s Derby, the first leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown.

Holders of tickets with 54-1 odds who could sell them to other bettors at those current odds, which would pay $4 if the horse wins, would earn a 1,375 percent profit before the race is run. Because the secondary market isn’t very liquid, selling the ticket from the future wager pool might be difficult.

“It’s not that sophisticated, you just buy and hold the ticket,” said Andrew Beyer, a Washington Post columnist who created a system -- known as Beyer Speed Figures -- used by bettors that measures how fast a horse runs. “If I had I Want Revenge at 54-1 and still like the horse, all I would do is sit in front of the TV and root for him.

“If for some reason I didn’t like his chances, I may unload him,” he said in a telephone interview. “If he’s 3-1 and somebody gave you 15-1 then that might be a legitimate thing to do.”

The future wager pools, which are also held in March and early April, offer fans opportunities to bet on contenders for the Kentucky Derby at odds that might be greater than those they would receive on race day. The minimum is $2 and only pays if the horse wins. The pools include 23 horses and a mutuel field of all others.

In the third future wager pool in April, final odds on I Want Revenge were 9-2. Total wagering in the first pool, conducted Feb. 12-15, was $478,721.

To contact the reporter on this story: Vince Golle in Washington at vgolle@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 1, 2009 14:20 EDT