Kentucky Derby 2018 Post Positions: Latest Odds, Historical Stats for Each Slot

Since the Kentucky Derby began assigning post positions from gates in 1930, the inside starting spots have been the most beneficial to race winners.

The further you get from the rail in the starting order, the fewer champions you find, although some recent winners were able to get over a bad post position draw to end up in the winner's circle.

Some of the horses picked to dominate the 2018 edition of the race sit in favorable positions after Tuesday's draw, but that's only one factor that comes into play during the 1 ¼-mile race.

Below is a look at the production from each of the starting gates used for the 2018 Kentucky Derby, including a list of winners from every position.

Latest Odds and Post Positions (Odds via OddsShark)

1. Firenze Fire (+6600) 

2. Free Drop Billy (+3300)

3. Promises Fulfilled (+4000)

4. Flameaway (+4000)

5. Audible (+550)

6. Good Magic (+900)

7. Justify (+350)

8. Lone Sailor (+5000)

9. Hofburg (+1600)

10. My Boy Jack (+2200)

11. Bolt d'Oro (+900)

12. Entinced (+2500)

13. Bravazo (+5000)

14. Mendelssohn (+400)

15. Instilled Regard (+5000)

16. Magnum Moon (+700)

17. Solomini (+2000)

18. Vino Rosso (+1400)

19. Noble Indy (+2800)

20. Combatant (+6600)

Historical Stats For Each Slot

No. 1

Eight different horses have come from the inside position of the starting gate to advance to the winner's circle at Churchill Downs.

If Firenze Fire pulls off one of the most surprising upsets in Kentucky Derby history, he'll be the first horse to win from post No. 1 since Ferdinand in 1986.

No. 2

Triple Crown winner Affirmed was the last horse to win from the No. 2 starting position in 1978.

Affirmed is one of two Triple Crown champions to win at Churchill Downs from post No. 2, as Assault also achieved the feat in 1946.

No. 3

You could say the horses coming out of the No. 3 position have been real quiet since the horse Real Quiet won in 1998.

Although there's a 19-year drought for horses coming out of the third spot, which is where Promises Fulfilled lines up Saturday, the post produced two notable winners in Real Quiet and Alysheba, who won the first two races of the Triple Crown in 1987.

No. 4

Just like No. 2, post No. 4 hasn't produced a volume of winners, but the championship horses to start in that block are of the legendary variety.

Triple Crown champions Whirlaway and Seattle Slew won from post No. 4 in 1941 and 1977, respectively, while Super Saver in 2010 was the last champion from the inside position.

No. 5

If you're basing your bets solely on these statistics, go all in on Audible.

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

Five winners in the last 21 years came from post No. 5, including 2017 champion Always Dreaming. Silver Charm (1997), War Emblem (2002), Funny Cide (2003) and California Chrome (2013) have won during that span as well.

Overall, post No. 5 is the most successful of them all, as 10 horses, including 1943 Triple Crown winner Count Fleet, won from that spot in the starting gate.

No. 6

Iron Liege in 1957 and Sea Hero in 1993 are the only two horses to capture a Kentucky Derby victory from the No. 6 position. 

The drought could end through Good Magic, who is in the second tier of horses when it comes to odds, but he'll have to break past favorites Audible and Justify, who start to his left and right, respectively.

No. 7

The first horse to win the Kentucky Derby from post No. 7 became the second to win the Triple Crown.

Justify, who sits as favorite at +350, is attempting to join Gallant Fox in that category if everything goes right over the next six weeks.

If Justify succeeds in that quest, he would break the "Curse of Apollo" as the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby without racing as a two-year-old since Apollo in 1882.

No. 8

In a funny coincidence, eight winners have come from post No. 8, with two in the last 12 years.

2006 winner Barbaro and 2009 champion Mine That Bird have the shortest gap in between winners from the eighth starting position, while two other winners are separated by four years.

With long shot Lone Sailor coming out of the gates from No. 8, one of the shortest droughts from a specific pole position should continue.

No. 9

Hofburg is in search of the first win by a horse starting from post No. 9 since 1972, when Riva Ridge conquered Churchill Downs.

The other three champions from the ninth post came from a span lasting from 1951 to 1960, a stretch in which back-to-back winners came from No. 9 in 1959 and 1960 in the form of Tomy Lee and Venetian Way.

No. 10

Storied champions Omaha and Secretariat came from the middle of the pack to earn the first jewel of their respective Triple Crown triumphs in 1935 and 1973.

However, the luck from post No. 10 dried up since the turn of the century, as 2005 winner Giacomo is the only horse to come out on top from that starting slot since 1992, which is bad news for My Boy Jack Saturday.

No. 11

Fifty-five years separate the pair of victorious horses to come from post No. 11, a small group Bolt d'Oro could join if he scores a minor upset to defeat the field.

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

Brokers Tip (1933) and the appropriately named Winning Colors (1988) share the honors as champions from the middle of the starting gate.

At +900, Bolt d'Oro stands a legitimate chance Saturday, but he must join up with the horses from better starting positions right away.

No. 12

The only gate with a longer winning drought than No. 12 is No. 14. Canonero II in 1971 was the last horse to taste Kentucky Derby glory from post No. 12.

The lack of winning from No. 12 is likely to continue, as Enticed comes into the race with average odds at best, as he sits at +2500.

No. 13

Two of the best horses in recent memory started the Kentucky Derby in gate No. 13.

Smarty Jones, who won in 2004, and 2016 champion Nyquist are two of nine champions to start in the 10 outside positions since 2000.

Bravazo will try to discover some of the luck from post No. 13 Saturday, but it's more than likely another horse from the outside gates thrives near the finish line.

No. 14

Mendelssohn may be near the top of the odds chart, but he doesn't have much going for him historically from post No. 14.

The horse ridden by Ryan Moore, who is attempting to be the first European-trained horse to win the Kentucky Derby, starts from a position that last produced a winner in 1961.

No. 15

The most recent Triple Crown success story started in post No. 15 three years ago, as American Pharoah took off from the gate on the way to winning the first of three straight races. 

All five of the winning horses from No. 15 have come in the last 34 years, starting with Swale in 1984. Grindstone (1996), Fusaichi Pegasus (2000) and Orb (2003) are the other victorious thoroughbreds to start way out in gate No. 15.

No. 16

Post No. 16 has seen some of its horses achieve success over the last two decades after producing zero winners before 1995.

Thunder Gulch was the first horse to win from the outside position in 1995, and since then Charismatic (1999), Monarchos (2001) and Animal Kingdom (2011) found success from the same spot.

Magnum Moon, who is one of four Todd Pletcher horses in the field, could add to that list by the end of Saturday.

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

No. 17

Solomini could be the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby from gate No. 17.

With some of the worst odds in the field, Solomini isn't expected to be a contender, which means if he is near the front at the end of the race, we could bear witness to one of the biggest underdog stories in race history.

No. 18

Gato Del Sol's 1982 victory remains the only triumph from post No. 18, but there's a chance Vino Rosso joins him Saturday.

Although Vino Rosso isn't considered one of the favorites, he is a strong horse with a mediocre number attached to him, and he could benefit from open space at the start of the race. 

No. 19 

It's going to take a lot for post No. 19 to have another winner in 2018.

2012 champion I'll Have Another is the only horse to achieve success from one of the furthest outside gates, and he should remain the lone winner from the position, as Noble Indy is one of the bigger underdogs in Saturday's race.

No. 20

The lonely spot normally at the end of the gate has one champion to brag about in Big Brown from 2008.

It's hard to believe Combatant, who has the longest odds in the field along with Firenze Fire, turns in a winning performance, as the 10th anniversary of Big Brown's win is celebrated.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from KentuckyDerby.com.