Kentucky Derby 2013 Entries: Post Positions for Every Horse in 139th Race

The excitement surrounding the 2013 Kentucky Derby is reaching a fevered pitch as the horse racing community descends on Churchill Downs in full force. The post positions were announced on Wednesday, May 1, for the 139th annual race, which will be held on May 4.

There are 20 horses scheduled to race on Saturday, and of that number, there are certainly a few favorites. Orb, Verrazano, Revolutionary and Goldencents are the top betting favorites, while Black Onyx, Falling Sky and Giant Finish come in at this time as the biggest long shots.

Landing a favorable post position is usually a key to winning the race, but last year's winner, I'll Have Another, beat the odds as the first winner from gate No. 19.

Historically, most winning horses start out on the inside. Ninety of the last 113 Derby winners have started from gates No. 1 through No. 10, while 52 winners have come from No. 1 through No. 5.

That said, recent history suggests inside post position isn't as much of an advantage as it once was when the races featured a smaller field.

After the draw, here's the post positions for every horse scheduled to race on Saturday:

2013 Kentucky Derby | Churchill Downs, Louisville, Ky. | Purse: $2.18 Million | Grade I | Distance: 10 furlongs | Post Time: 7-7:30 p.m. ET

*Post positions via the Kentucky Derby's official Twitter account. Odds courtesy of NBC Sports, via WDRB's Steve Andress.

Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Odds
1	Black Onyx	Joe Bravo	Kelly Breen	50-1
2	Oxbow	Gary Stevens	D. Wayne Lukas	30-1
3	Revolutionary	Calvin Borel	Todd Pletcher	10-1
4	Golden Soul	Robby Albarado	Dallas Stewart	50-1
5	Normandy Invasion	Javier Castellano	Chad Brown	12-1
6	Mylute	Rosie Napravnik	Tom Amoss	15-1
7	Giant Finish	Jose L. Espinoza	Anthony W. Dutrow	50-1
8	Goldencents	Kevin Krigger	Doug O'Neill	5-1
9	Overanalyze	Rafael Bejarano	Todd Pletcher	15-1
10	Palace Malice	Mike Smith	Todd Pletcher	20-1
11	Lines of Battle	Ryan Moore	Aidan O'Brien	30-1
12	Itsmyluckyday	Elvis Trujillo	Eddie Plesa, Jr.	15-1
13	Falling Sky	Luis Saez	John Terranova II	50-1
14	Verrazano	John R. Velazquez	Todd Pletcher	4-1
15	Charming Kitten	Edgar Prado	Todd Pletcher	20-1
16	Orb	Joel Rosario	Claude R. McGaughey III	7/2
17	Will Take Charge	Jon Court	D. Wayne Lukas	20-1
18	Frac Daddy	Victor Lebron	Kenny McPeek	50-1
19	Java's War	Julien Leparoux	Kenny McPeek	15-1
20	Vyjack	Garrett Gomez	Rudy Rodriguez	15-1

Favorites for the 2013 Kentucky Derby

Orb: 7/2 Odds 

Trained by Claude R. "Shug" McGaughey III, Orb features an incredible pedigree. According to Jennie Rees of the Courier-Journal.com:

"

Orb directly traces to a mare, Claiborne-bred Bold Irish...that direct line produced one of American racing’s most legendary horses – the brilliant and unbeaten filly Ruffian, who suffered fatal injuries in the 1975 match race with Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure. It also produced Private Terms, who went into the 1988 Kentucky Derby unbeaten...

"

Orb has won four straight races heading into the derby. This horse possesses excellent endurance, but James Scully of BrisNet.com wonders if it has enough pure speed to win this upcoming race.

Jockey Joel Rosario will need to execute a flawless game plan to guide Orb to Derby glory.

Verrazano: 4-1 Odds

Trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by jockey John Velazquez—both former winners—Verrazano (like Orb) has won four straight races heading into this race against some stiff competition. This horse is one of the hottest names right now, and for good reason.

Verrazano is ready to take a shot at the Triple Crown this season. This horse defeated the eventual Blue Grass winner at the Tampa Bay Derby and held off some stiff competition at the Wood Memorial. He has the speed, endurance and fire to win at Churchill Downs.

According to Scully, the biggest concern facing Verrazano and Velasquez is whether or not they can maintain a full sprint throughout the race, should the race end up turning into such a race.

Goldencents: 5-1 Odds

Speed. That's the word to describe this horse. 

According to Scully, Goldencents owns the "top last-race BRIS speed rating (106)" of any horse entered to race at Churchill Downs.

Whether or not Goldencents has the endurance to keep up a torrid pace throughout this long race is another matter, but it won't surprise anyone if this horse pushes the pace from the early goings. 

Trained by last year's winner, Doug O'Neil, and ridden by jockey Kevin Krigger, Goldencents has won three of five races it's entered since October of 2012. This horse is also partially owned by Rick Pitino, who just won a national championship with the Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team.

Should Goldencents win this year's Derby, Krigger would be the first African-American jockey to win the race since 1902 (h/t Larry Stewart of the Long Beach Press-Telegram).

Follow me on Twitter @JesseReed78.