Kentucky Derby 2015 Post Positions: Latest Odds, Historical Stats for Each Slot

The post positions for the 2015 Kentucky Derby have been set. Now an elite field of competitors and connections will have a better idea of how to game-plan in their bids for the first leg of the Triple Crown at Churchill Downs on Saturday.

In the 141st annual Run for the Roses in Louisville, the prohibitive favorite appears to be American Pharoah. With four straight victories, including the Arkansas Derby most recently, he's a deserving No. 1 odds-on choice.

Check out the latest odds below now that the post positions have been revealed:

Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Morning-Line Odds
1	Ocho Ocho Ocho	Elvis Trujillo	Jim Cassidy	50-1
2	Carpe Diem	John Velazquez	Todd Pletcher	8-1
3	Materiality	Javier Castellano	Todd Pletcher	12-1
4	Tencendur	Manny Franco	George Weaver	30-1
5	Danzig Moon	Julien Leparoux	Mark Casse	30-1
6	Mubtaahij	Christophe Soumillon	Mike de Kock	20-1
7	El Kabeir	Calvin Borel	John Terranova II	30-1
8	Dortmund	Martin Garcia	Bob Baffert	3-1
9	Bolo	Rafael Bejarano	Carla Gaines	30-1
10	Firing Line	Gary Stevens	Simon Callaghan	12-1
11	International Star	Miguel Mena	Mike Maker	20-1
12	Itsaknockout	Luis Saez	Todd Pletcher	30-1
13	Keen Ice	Kent Desormeaux	Dale Romans	50-1
14	Frosted	Joel Rosario	Kiaran McLaughlin	15-1
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	5-2
18	Upstart	Jose Ortiz	Rick Violette Jr.	15-1
19	Far Right	Mike Smith	Ron Moquett	30-1
20	Frammento	Corey Nakatani	Nick Zito	50-1

It's often difficult to gauge how the starting post plays a part in a horse's chances of striding to the winner's circle at Churchill Downs. Numerous factors come into play, including what tactics the particular jockey prefers to deploy.

For example, someone like Calvin Borel loves to make his move close to the rail. Borel has won this race three times, with the last of those victories coming in 2010. Borel will have to work to get inside from the seventh post aboard El Kabeir.

Here is an overview of all the Kentucky Derby winners in recent history with respect to where they started:

Post	No. of Winners	Most Recent
1	8	1986, Ferdinand
2	7	1978, Affirmed
3	5	1998, Real Quiet
4	5	2010, Super Saver
5	9	2014, California Chrome
6	2	1993, Sea Hero
7	6	2007, Street Sense
8	8	2009, Mine That Bird
9	4	1972, Riva Ridge
10	9	2005, Giacomo
11	2	1998, Winning Colors
12	3	1971, Canonero II
13	3	2004, Smarty Jones
14	2	1961, Carry Back
15	3	2000, Fusaichi Pegasus
16	5	2013, Orb
17	0	N/A
18	1	1982, Gato Del Sol
19	1	2012, I'll Have Another
20	1	2008, Big Brown

So when California Chrome commenced his valiant bid for the Triple Crown by riding to a win from the fifth post last year, it continued the trend of no one being able to overcome the No. 17 position to finish first.

Whoever starts in the 17th spot can therefore be all but excluded when discussing the top contenders in The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports.

To get back to the top candidates to reign supreme, American Pharoah is trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. Although he has won the Kentucky Derby three times before, Baffert hasn't had a winning entry since 2002, and he'll be keen to break that spell this time around.

Tim Wilkin of the Albany Times Union logged what D. Wayne Lukas, one of Baffert's prolific peers, had to say about American Pharoah:

That type of ringing endorsement from Lukas doesn't come too easily. It only fortifies the notion that American Pharoah is the horse to beat.

ESPN's Chris Fallica points out how Baffert hasn't had the greatest history with top favorites, though:

In the event that American Pharoah doesn't get it done, Baffert has another ace in the hole in Dortmund. The Santa Anita Derby champion hasn't lost in six career starts. Based on Baffert's background and impeccable resume, he seems destined to trot out a winner in 2015.

No one can really be discounted because it takes tremendous work and a pure type of horse for a team to have the means to grace the grounds in Louisville in the first place.

Garry Jones/Associated Press

Todd Pletcher is a fine trainer in his own right and has two of the biggest challengers to Baffert's formidable duo. Materiality won the Florida Derby and is in Pletcher's stable, while Carpe Diem also figures to be a factor after his triumph at the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes.

Whoever emerges victorious will garner inevitable Triple Crown hype. Fresh off California Chrome's impressive double at the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, expectations will be high, and the pressure will be great.

Even if one of Baffert's two favorites win, he and his connections will have to deal with the scrutiny of pulling off horse racing's trifecta for the first time in more than three decades. It's a nice problem to have, but it will be interesting to see how they handle it if the opportunity comes to pass.