2015 Kentucky Derby: Race Info, NBC Schedule, Entry Field and Post Positions

There are traditions in sports that will never go away. One of the greatest is the start of Triple Crown season, which officially kicks off Saturday with the 141st Kentucky Derby. 

The quest to become horse racing's first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978 is always one of the year's great storylines. It begins at Churchill Downs and features a loaded field, one led by American Pharoah and Dortmund. The two horses are poised to begin a great new rivalry. 

Whatever is in store for the best horses in the country, it's going to be fascinating to watch. Before settling in to watch the most exciting two minutes in sports, here's what you need to know about this year's Kentucky Derby. 

Kentucky Derby Field

Post Position	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Odds
1	Ocho Ocho Ocho	Elvis Trujillo	Jim Cassidy	50-1
2	Carpe Diem	John Velazquez	Todd Pletcher	17-2
3	Materiality	Javier Castellano	Todd Pletcher	14-1
4	Tencendur	Manny Franco	George Weaver	50-1
5	Danzig Moon	Julien Leparoux	Mark Casse	50-1
6	Mubtaahij	Christophe Soumillon	Mike de Kock	12-1
7	El Kabeir	Calvin Borel	John Terranova II	33-1
8	Dortmund	Martin Garcia	Bob Baffert	7-2
9	Bolo	Rafael Bejarano	Carla Gaines	40-1
10	Firing Line	Gary Stevens	Simon Callaghan	14-1
11	International Star	Miguel Mena	Mike Maker	22-1
12	Itsaknockout	Luis Saez	Todd Pletcher	33-1
13	Keen Ice	Kent Desormeaux	Dale Romans	50-1
14	Frosted	Joel Rosario	Kiaran McLaughlin	16-1
15	War Story	Joe Talamo	Tom Amoss	50-1
16	Mr. Z	Ramon Vazquez	D. Wayne Lukas	50-1
17	American Pharoah	Victor Espinoza	Bob Baffert	13-5
18	Upstart	Jose Ortiz	Rick Violette Jr.	22-1
19	Far Right	Mike Smith	Ron Moquett	33-1
20	Frammento	Joe Bravo	Nick Zito	N/A

Note: Per Jay Privman of Daily Racing Form, Stanford (No. 12 post) withdrew from the race and Frammento will take his spot. As a result, all horses that initially drew posts 13-20 will move up one spot, with Frammento starting out of the 20th gate. 

Viewing Schedule

Date	Start Time (ET)	Network
Saturday, May 2	6:24 p.m. (Network coverage begins at 4 p.m.)	NBC

The Favorites

Garry Jones/Associated Press

While there is no such thing as a sure thing in sports, some favorites stand out above the rest of the pack. This year's Kentucky Derby has two such horses: American Pharoah and Dortmund. 

According to Odds Shark, American Pharoah is going off the board as a 13-5 favorite, with Dortmund not far behind at 7-2. 

Joe Drape and Melissa Hoppert of The New York Times were not so quick to give Pharoah the edge, though, as Dortmund has been impressive in the big pre-Derby races.

"[Dortmund] gets the edge over American Pharoah for faring better in California," Drape wrote. "He has gotten better in each outing, and only illness, injury or a bad post position could slow him down."

Hoppert noted that Dortmund "crushed a talented Santa Anita Derby Field, winning by 4 ¼ lengths." Winners of the Santa Anita Derby have gone on to win at Churchill Downs two of the last three years (California Chrome in 2014 and I'll Have Another in 2012). 

Danny Johnston/Associated Press

American Pharoah won the Arkansas Derby, which hasn't produced a Kentucky Derby winner since Smarty Jones in 2004. However, Marcus Hersh of Daily Racing Form did provide evidence that Pharoah may be the best horse to win that race in more than a decade:

Both horses are coached by Bob Baffert. The legendary trainer hasn't produced a Kentucky Derby winner since War Emblem in 2002, though Bodemeister did come close in 2012. 

D. Wayne Lukas sees some separation between the two horses, giving the edge to American Pharoah without hesitation, via Jennie Rees of The Courier-Journal:

"

I don't think there's any doubt about (American Pharoah being the favorite). Sometimes a horse like that comes along. We also say, "The Derby, a lot of time the best horse doesn't win." All the usual. But to me, first of all, American Pharoah has a world-class rider. Secondly, he's got a trainer who darn sure knows what to do and has been there and done it. And he's got the style that you want if you're a trainer. He lays really close or on the pace, and then he's got a devastating kick.

"

Even that doesn't provide much separation between the two. Lukas' argument is built around Baffert's training, and he is working with both of the top candidates. 

The difference seems to be that American Pharoah steamrolled everyone at the Arkansas Derby, while Dortmund is 6-0 in his racing career. Per Beth Harris of NBCBayArea.com, Dortmund has the same record as Seattle Slew (1977) and Smarty Jones (2004) before they won the Kentucky Derby.

It also doesn't hurt that Dortmund's sire is Big Brown, who won the first two legs of the Triple Crown in 2008.  

American Pharoah and Dortmund can put together one of horse racing's great rivalries if everything breaks as the oddsmakers expect. The journey will start Saturday at Churchill Downs.