Kentucky Derby 2014 Post Positions: Odds and Race Outlook for Entire Field

An intriguing field of horses will look to begin their Triple Crown bid at Churchill Downs in the annual running of the Kentucky Derby.

In one of sports' most prestigious events, fans will witness the world's finest trainers and jockeys unleash their finest colts for the first leg of the Triple Crown. While California Chrome enters as the favorite, there are quite a few dangerous adversaries who can interfere with the chances of Art Sherman's horse emerging victorious.

There's a lot to break down before the race kicks off on Saturday, so let's take a look at the post positions and updated odds for the highly anticipated action.

Odds and Post Positions

Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Odds
1	Vicar's In Trouble	Rosie Napravnik	Mike Maker	25-1
2	Harry's Holiday	Corey Lanerie	Mike Maker	66-1
3	Uncle Sigh	Irad Ortiz Jr.	Gary Contessa	33-1
4	Danza	Joe Bravo	Todd Pletcher	8-1
5	California Chrome	Victor Espinoza	Art Sherman	11-4
6	Samraat	Jose Ortiz	Rick Violette Jr.	18-1
7	We Miss Artie	Javier Castellano	Todd Pletcher	40-1
8	General A Rod	Joel Rosario	Mike Maker	18-1
9	Vinceremos	Joe Rocco Jr.	Todd Pletecher	50-1
10	Wildcat Red	Luis Saez	Jose Garoffalo	16-1
11	Hoppertunity	Mike Smith	Bob Baffert	SCRATCHED
12	Dance With Fate	Corey Nakatani	Peter Eurton	22-1
13	Chitu	Martin Garcia	Bob Baffert	28-1
14	Medal Count	Robby Albarado	Dale Romans	25-1
15	Tapiture	Ricardo Santana Jr.	Steve Asmussen	18-1
16	Intense Holiday	John Velazquez	Todd Pletcher	14-1
17	Commanding Curve	Shaun Bridgmohan	Dallas Stewart	40-1
18	Candy Boy	Gary Stevens	John Sadler	25-1
19	Ride On Curlin	Calvin Borel	William G. Gowan	20-1
20	Wicked Strong	Rajiv Maragh	James A. Jerkens	10-1
21	Pablo Del Monte	Jeffrey Sanchez	Wesley Ward	SCRATCHED

Opportunity will not knock for Hoppertunity, as one of the Derby's top contenders will not compete due to injury, per Esther Marr of The Blood-Horse.

The field narrowed some more, as the Daily Racing Form's Marty McGee reported that Pablo Del Monte—Hoppertunity's replacement—will also not compete. This late scratch will leave the list of racers at 19.

Note: Betting lines as of 1:00 p.m. ET on Friday, May 2. 

Race Outlook

The odds suggest that this year's Derby is California Chrome's for the taking.

Looking at his past results, it's easy to see why. He is on a four-race winning streak, most recently steamrolling the pack during the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. California won by 5 1/4 lengths, a demonstrative victory for the horse owned by Perry Martin and Steve Coburn.

Several potent challengers stand in his way. One of the more notable ones is Danza, who is indeed named after actor Tony Danza. While the colt has only raced four times, the limited sample size has yielded promising results. He has swapped a pair of victories with two third-place competition finishes.

The lack of competition paid off during April 12's Arkansas Derby. Guided by legendary trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey Joe Bravo—who will ride on Saturday—Danza won the Grade 1 event at 41-1 odds, earning a 4 3/4-length victory.

After the fact, Bravo marveled about Danza's effort to The Blood-Horse's Jack Shinar, via ESPN.com.

"

That was a pretty great effort. Todd was pretty high on the horse and he told me this morning that he was going to be fresh so don't take anything away from him. Try to save as much [ground] as you can and let him run his race. It was textbook, just textbook. Everything unfolded like a dream.

"

Will Wicked Strong be able to run wicked fast on Saturday? He has at least placed in four of six races, including a victory in the Wood Memorial Stakes. Then again, a ninth-place finish in the Grade 2 Holy Bull Stakes raises some concerns for the inconsistent performer.

The Daily Racing Form's Mike Welsch saw some alarming signs while watching a practice run earlier in the week.

If it's a sleeper you're searching for, give Samraat a gander. Running alongside California Chrome creates an obstacle, but the New York-bred horse held a five-race winning streak before finishing in second behind Wicked Strong at the Wood Memorial Stakes.

At 18-1 odds, don't look past Samraat on Saturday.