Kentucky Derby 2013 Post Positions: Updated Odds with Post Positions Unveiled

While emerging from Wednesday's draw for the Kentucky Derby post positions as the morning line favorite at 7-2, Florida Derby winner Orb is being viewed as anything but a lock.

The undefeated Verrazano will be in the 14th post and is set right behind Orb in the odds at 4-1, and inside of Orb's 16th post.

Lurking just behind them in the line is Goldencents, who will attempt to net trainer Doug O'Neill back-to-back Kentucky Derby wins. He sits at 5-1 in the morning line and will be taking off from the eighth gate.

This is expected to be a wide-open race. There are 10 horses with 15-1 odds or lower, and it is possible to make a case for any of them. 

Still, the three favorites stand out from this crowded field, and I offer up a deeper look at them below. First, however, feel free to check out the post positions and odds for 2013's version of the Greatest Two Minutes in Sports. 

2013 Kentucky Derby Post Positions

*Post positions and odds via KentuckyDerby.com.

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

Orb

Orb is No. 1 in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's top three-year-old poll. So it certainly was no stretch to list him as the favorite. However, it was a mild surprise.  

Leading up to the week of the Derby, as Jennie Rees of the USA Today points out, that it was widely assumed that Todd Pletcher's Verrazano would be the morning-line favorite.

However, Mike Battaglia, who sets the morning line, tweeted this:  

Remember, Battaglia's job is to set the line on the way he feels people are going to bet. He took the pulse of buzz on the horses, and Orb won. 

Obviously, this is a good sign for Orb. This horse entered this week with big expectations, and he is not letting anyone down.

Last time Orb took the track, he won the Florida Derby. That came over Itsmyluckday, who is 15-1 in this morning line. Also, this past Nov, 24, Orb earned a victory by beating Revolutionary, who is 10-1 for the Derby.

This is a horse who is peaking, and itching to race. Check out this pic of an Antsy Orb by HRTV's Zoe Cadman:  

As if all that wasn't enough, this horse has the red-hot Joel Rosario getting the mount, and a nice post for him at 16. This will allow him to run clean and then pick a lane and go. Oh, the 16th post was also the home to 2011 champ, Animal Kingdom.

There is a lot to like about Orb. 

Verrazano

So, as we saw, Verrazano is not generating a lot of buzz. This is slightly alarming. However, the world's greatest trainer, Todd Pletcher, eases the concern about his horse with this quote provided by the Albany Times Union's Tim Wilkin:

This may be a horse that turns it on for race day. He certainly has so far. 

Verrazano has four starts and four wins. He is the only undefeated horse in this field. He excels at distance, and has a nice finishing kick. He also has beaten a few of his competitors for the Derby. 

He bested Java's War (15-1) at the Tampa Bay Derby, and then Normandy Invasion (12-1) and Vyjack (15-1) in the Wood Memorial (in the above video).

Normandy Invasion closed to less than a length in the Wood Memorial, which raises some questions. However, it was not because Verrazano was fading, and he again showed the will to win. 

No. 14 is a nice post for Verrazano, but he will have to end a serious streak to succeed from there. No. 14 hasn't fielded a winner since Carry Back in 1961.

Not that really means anything. I'll Have Another was the first horse to ever win from No. 19 last year.

Look for Verrazano to be battling for the win. 

Goldencents

The horse with the third-lowest odds will attempt to make O'Neill the first trainer to win the Kentucky Derby in back-to-back years since Bob Baffert pulled it off in 1998.

And O'Neill has to be getting a bit of deja-vu. Like I'll Have Another, Goldencents runs into the Derby off of a win at the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. That was the third win for both horses in a graded race. 

While winning four of his last six starts, this horse has outrun Mylute (15-1) and Itsmyluckyday (15-1). 

While Goldencents' promising career gives O'Neill a chance to make his mark on history by snapping a 15-year-old streak, that's nothing compared to the 101-year drought jockey Kevin Krigger is trying to end. 

The rapidly rising Krigger is vying to become the first African-American jockey to win the Derby since 1902. 

Also, and I'll go out on a limb and say this has never been done, Goldencents is trying to help his part owner follow up his college basketball national championship with a Kentucky Derby win. 

As if things haven't been going good enough for Rick Pitino, the Cincinnati Enquirer's Joe Reedy passes this along: 

This horse has a great shot at victory, and it will be a great story if he pulls it off.