Kentucky Derby 2018 Odds: Latest Field Betting Lines After Post Positions Draw

The 144th Kentucky Derby field is set after Tuesday's post-position reveal, which kept all the premier contenders on track for a big weekend.

Even if the draws are often overanalyzed, no favorite received an unfavorable spot that will send bettors fleeing. As of Tuesday evening, OddsShark pegs Scat Daddy offspring Justify and Mendelssohn as the top horses running at Churchill Downs. Yet a few other threats loom as feasible choices to win Saturday's Run for the Roses.

In light of Tuesday's post unveiling, let's take a look at each contestant's starting gate and updated odds.

1. Firenze Fire: 40-1

2. Free Drop Billy: 33-1

3. Promises Fulfilled: 33-1

4. Flameaway: 33-1

5. Audible: 6-1

6. Good Magic: 11-1

7. Justify: 4-1

8. Lone Sailor: 50-1

9. Hofburg: 20-1

10. My Boy Jack: 22-1

11. Bolt d'Oro: 9-1

12. Enticed: 25-1

13. Bravazo: 50-1

14. Mendelssohn: 4-1

15. Instilled Regard: 50-1

16. Magnum Moon: 8-1

17. Solomini: 22-1

18. Vino Rosso: 16-1

19. Noble Indy: 20-1

20. Combatant: 40-1

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Bob Baffert had reason to both bemoan and celebrate Tuesday's draw. 

One of the renowned trainer's two entrants, Solomini, will start from the only spot (No. 17) yet to ever yield a Kentucky Derby winner. Then again, Baffert won his most recent Run for the Roses in 2015, when American Pharoah became just the second horse to triumph from the No. 18 position.

He's likely to pay more mind to his primary contender anyway. Justify still resides as a favorite after snagging the No. 7 post that has netted six victors. Per Childs Walker of the Baltimore Sun, Baffert is pleased with the result. 

"That’s a good spot," Baffert said of Justify's draw. "We didn't want to be in the one-hole, and we didn’t want to be 20. Seven is fine, but he still has to break well. If he doesn’t break well, it doesn't matter what hole he's in. … He’s lightly raced, and he has to leave there running."

A lack of exposure is the main indictment of Justify, who did not debut until February. Apollo, the 1882 winner, is the last and only horse to win the Derby after not competing as a two-year-old.

If anyone can break that drought, it's Justify, who proved worth the wait by winning all three races, most recently the Santa Anita Derby last month. He'll have the guidance of jockey Mike E. Smith, a four-time Triple Crown winner who ranks second in all-time earnings, according to Equibase.

Yet Magnum Moon is another candidate to break the "Apollo Curse." One of Todd Pletcher's four entrants has finished first in all four events this year. As noted by ESPN's Chris Fallica, the latest Derby winners did not previously experience defeat:

Per the Associated Press' Beth Harris (via ABC.com), Bravazo trainer D. Wayne Lukas does not believe 2017 inactivity will hinder the two undefeated favorites managed by decorated trainers.

"I don't buy into the Apollo Curse or whatever at all, mainly because Bob Baffert and Todd Pletcher have got the horses," Lukas said. "Todd's going to have his (horse) ready, and Baffert is going to have his."

Audible, also trained by Pletcher, boasts better odds than Magnum Moon. Some of that credit belongs to jockey Javier Castellano, who tops Smith on the aforementioned all-time earnings list. The Florida Derby winner drew the No. 5 spot, which has produced nine winners since 1930. 

Mendelssohn, meanwhile, could become the first horse from Europe to win the Fastest Two Minutes in Sports. He garnered buzz by winning Dubai's UAE Derby by a record 18 ½ lengths.

There's also plenty of uncertainty surrounding the colt, starting with the staff. Trainer Aidan O’Brien has never placed in the Kentucky Derby. While jockey Ryan Moore has ridden Mendelssohn to four victories, he finished seventh in 2013's lone appearance at Churchill Downs' prestigious race. 

The field features a few distinguishable favorites, but no lone horse enters Saturday as the overwhelming choice to seize the Triple Crown's first leg. Given all the contenders who need to overcome history, viewers will likely witness some type of first.