Kentucky Derby 2012 Post Positions: Daddy Long Legs Will Be Doomed by No. 1 Post

Post position No. 1 was not what Daddy Long Legs trainer Aidan O'Brien wanted heading into the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby.

O'Brien will be making his second trip in the last year to Churchill Downs with Daddy Long Legs, knowing that the Kentucky Derby has historically been a tough race for European stables.

As a result, he's done everything he can to simulate the Churchill Downs conditions for his colt—back in Ireland, he's even had his stable staff shout loudly and disruptively in the hopes that it might give the horse a taste of what it will be like to run in front of the raucous Derby crowd.

If any horse can do it, O'Brien believes it's this one, who won the Royal Lodge Stakes last year and, soon after, the UAE Derby at Meydan.

The last time Daddy Long Legs took the track in Louisville, he finished 12th of 13th in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile after starting from post position No. 11. Surely, after that disaster, O'Brien would've preferred a post anywhere else but first.

O'Brien's assistant, TJ Comerford, told DRF.com's Marcus Hersh, "We went from one extreme to the other."

Still, Daddy Long Legs has only improved since that unfortunate outcome last year, and according to Comerford, he is bigger, stronger and faster. 

Currently, the colt's odds stand at 30-1, partly because his ability to run effectively on the dirt track at Churchill Downs has been questioned. That, in part, could be what led to his disappointing finish at the Breeders' Cup Juvenile—though O'Brien heavily disputes that claim.

He told The Telegraph's JA McGrath, "It was more about the start than it was the dirt. He lost it out of the gate and he wasn’t as quick and as sharp in the first furlong as we would have liked."

Given Daddy Long Leg's previous performance in Louisville—from a similarly unfortunate post position—it's hard to believe he'll be much of a factor on Saturday. The oddsmakers probably got this one right.

Here is a look at the rest of the field's post positions and odds heading into the Derby. Complete odds can be found here at the Derby's official website. 

Post	Horse	Odds
1.	Daddy Long Legs	30/1
2.	Optimizer	20/1
3.	Take Charge Indy	16/1
4.	Union Rags	9/2
5.	Dullahan	8/1
6.	Bodemeister	9/2
7.	Rousing Sermon	40/1
8.	Creative Cause	11/1
9.	Trinniberg	45/1
10.	Daddy Nose Best	15/1
11.	Alpha	11/1
12.	Prospective	50/1
13.	Went The Day Well	18/1
14.	Hansen	14/1
15.	Gemologist	7/1
16.	El Padrino	16/1
17.	Done Talking	50/1
18.	Sabercat	35/1
19.	I'll Have Another	15/1
20.	Liaison	40/1