Kentucky Derby 2015 Post Positions: Updated Odds for Entire Lineup After Draw

Three days. 

Three days until "they're off!" Three days until elaborate, gaudy outfits, mint juleps and betting slips. Three days until all of the pageantry and punditry and anticipation finally commences with the starting gun. 

Three days until the Kentucky Derby. Let's take a look at the post positions and odds and preview the upcoming race. 

Post Position	Horse	Odds	Trainer	Jockey
1	Ocho Ocho Ocho	50-1	Jim Cassidy	Elvis Trujillo
2	Carpe Diem	8-1	Todd Pletcher	John Velazquez
3	Materiality	12-1	Todd Pletcher	Javier Castellano
4	Tencendur	30-1	George Weaver	Manny Franco
5	Danzig Moon	30-1	Mark Casse	Julien Leparoux
6	Mubtaahij	20-1	Mike de Kock	Christophe Soumillon
7	El Kabeir	30-1	John Terranova II	Calvin Borel
8	Dortmund	3-1	Bob Baffert	Martin Garcia
9	Bolo	30-1	Carla Gaines	Rafael Bejarano
10	Firing Line	12-1	Simon Callaghan	Gary Stevens
11	Stanford	30-1	Todd Pletcher	Florent Geroux
12	International Star	20-1	Mike Maker	Miguel Mena
13	Itsaknockout	30-1	Todd Pletcher	Luis Saez
14	Keen Ice	50-1	Dale Romans	Kent Desormeaux
15	Frosted	15-1	Kiaran McLaughlin	Joel Rosario
16	War Story	50-1	Tom Amoss	Joe Talamo
17	Mr. Z	50-1	D. Wayne Lukas	Ramon Vazquez
18	American Pharoah	5-2	Bob Baffert	Victor Espinoza
19	Upstart	15-1	Rick Violette Jr.	Jose Ortiz
20	Far Right	30-1	Ron Moquett	Mike Smith

In most years, one of two stories at the Derby emerges. Either there is a runaway favorite or two that folks can't stop gushing about, or there is a deep field of contenders, and folks are scrambling to figure out who will emerge from the pack. 

This year, the Derby has both. 

Bob Baffert's American Pharoah and Dortmund are the clear favorites, with Carpe Diem, Materiality and Firing Line making up the next top contenders. As Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports noted, one of the reasons for such a deep field is a string of health among the top horses:

"

The horses have stayed healthy, and in the wake of Wednesday afternoon's post-position draw, we are looking at one of the most impressive Kentucky Derby fields in a long time.

"It's as strong as I can remember," said trainer Todd Pletcher, who has started 40 horses in the Derby in his career and plans to send four more to this year's race. "I don't recall a race as deep as this one."

There have been 22 major Derby prep races in 2015, and the winners of 20 of them figure to be in the field Saturday. The only defections on the arduous Derby trail have been Spiral Stakes winner Dubai Sky and Withers Stakes champ Far From Over.

"

American Pharoah is special, though. Even with a less than ideal starting post out wide, this is the sort of horse that has folks raving before the race. Indeed, it could have been worse for Pharoah, as Tim Layden of Sports Illustrated tweeted:

Todd Pletcher's stomach may still be tied up in knots after his two top contenders, Carpe Diem and Materiality, drew next to one another in Posts 2 and 3. Materiality has an excellent top speed and likes to get out and run early, so in an effort to avoid getting pinned too far inside, Materiality could set a blistering pace early in this race. 

Could that trap Carpe Diem to the inside? Will Carpe Diem look to set the pace with Materiality offering some protection on the outside? Or will both horses end up pinned? 

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

It will be fascinating to see how the two horses respond to their post positions and how their respective jockeys approach this race, which could very well set the tone for this year's event. 

Of course, the one horse who came in as a major favorite and ended up with just about the perfect post position is Dortmund. The horse will have to get out quick with the possibility of Materiality firing out from the start, but Dortmund is in the perfect position to steal this race. 

It's going to be an exciting Race for the Roses—that much is certain.