Kentucky Derby Post Positions 2012: Draw Won't Adversely Affect Race Favorites

Heading into the announcement of the post positions, Bodemeister and Union Rags were considered the favorites by many to win the Kentucky Derby.

After the post position reveal, that shouldn't change.

Neither Bodemeister nor Union Rags wound up with an ideal position, but neither was given a slot that should seriously derail their chances to win, either. Perhaps that's why Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia kept each as a favorite, putting Bodemeister at 4-1 and Union Rags at 9-2.

Bodemeister will start from post 6, an inside slot that trainer Bob Baffert was hoping to avoid.

Baffert preferred an outside post, away from the pack, according to Joe Drape of The New York Times:

"

“It’s not ideal,” Baffert said. “He’s a young, immature horse.”

Bodemeister’s jockey, Mike Smith, glumly agreed.

“We’ll play it off the break and see what happens,” he said. “If he’s given the opportunity, he’s going to run well.”

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As Drape noted, however, Bodemeister will have sprinters like Trinniberg and Hansen flanking him. If he can escape the pack and stay on the pace likely to be set by those two, he should be just fine.

Union Rags wound up on post 4, a disappointment for trainer Michael Matz, who was hoping the horse would land above post 5.

However, as Dick Jerardi of the Philadelphia Daily News (via the Boston Herald) reported, Matz still found a silver lining in the starting position:

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After initially being a bit discouraged, Matz took a longer look at the horses that will be around Union Rags in the starting gate and decided that horses near him "don’t have much speed so I don’t see why he can’t go right behind Bodemeister or be right with him. (Jockey) Julien (Leparoux) is going to have to come and let him run a little bit, but I don’t think that’s the worst thing in the world. My original thought, I wasn’t crazy about it, but the way everybody is, I don’t think it is so bad."

"

Despite all the attention paid to starting positions, ultimately it is the best horse on a given day that will win a race. If either Bodemeister or Union Rags run the race they are capable of, the starting position shouldn't matter for either.

Neither got a draw they loved, but neither got a draw that will prevent them from winning, either.

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