2015 Kentucky Derby: Post Positions and Odds for Horse Entries in 141st Race

The fact that this weekend’s Kentucky Derby will be the 141st says all you need to know about the prestige and history this event possesses.

A total of 20 horse and jockey combinations will battle it out in this year’s Run for the Roses. The field is bristling with real quality too and with the post positions set for the 2015 race, jockeys, trainers and owners will be starting to plot their way to victory over the 10-furlong distance.

Joe Kristufek of America's Best Racing spoke with Bleacher Report about who he thinks will win the big race:

Here’s how the horses will line up for the spectacle, as well as a closer examination of what the draw means for some of the major contenders for glory.

Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Odds
1	Ocho Ocho Ocho	Elvis Trujillo	Jim Cassidy	50-1
2	Carpe Diem	John Velazquez	Todd Pletcher	9-1
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	14-1
7	El Kabeir	Calvin Borel	John Terranova II	33-1
8	Dortmund	Martin Garcia	Bob Baffert	13-4
9	Bolo	Rafael Bejarano	Carla Gaines	33-1
10	Firing Line	Gary Stevens	Simon Callaghan	16-1
11	Stanford	Florent Geroux	Todd Pletcher	40-1
12	International Star	Miguel Mena	Mike Maker	20-1
13	Itsaknockout	Luis Saez	Todd Pletcher	33-1
14	Keen Ice	Kent Desormeaux	Dale Romans	50-1
15	Frosted	Joel Rosario	Kiaran McLaughlin	16-1
16	War Story	Joe Talamo	Tom Amoss	50-1
17	Mr. Z	Ramon Vazquez	D. Wayne Lukas	40-1
18	American Pharoah	Victor Espinoza	Bob Baffert	11-4
19	Upstart	Jose Ortiz	Rick Violette Jr.	22-1
20	Far Right	Mike Smith	Ron Moquett	33-1

For full listings, check out the Odds Shark website. Odds accurate as of 9:20 a.m. (BST), April 30.

Posts Set for Derby Duel

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

The draw for post positions in the Kentucky Derby is vital to a horse’s chances of sampling a win, and odds can fluctuate massively depending on who ends up where. One spot everyone was hoping to avoid was No. 1, but none of the favourites were plucked out for that position; Ocho Ocho Ocho has the unenviable task of starting alongside the rail.

It was a draw that prompted trainer Bob Baffert to offer some words of wisdom for his trainer Jim Cassidy, per Derby News:

Baffert will be much happier with the respective draws for his two horses, as American Pharoah and Dortmund lead the betting ahead of the prestigious event.

Rob Carr/Getty Images

The former is the big favourite to take victory. After showcasing some scintillating form to win the Arkansas Derby in the buildup to Churchill Downs, the hype has gone into overdrive when it comes to this horse. With Victor Espinoza aboard—a two-time Derby winner, including last year on California Chrome—he has a brilliant chance.

Indeed, in post 18, he’ll be able to stay out of trouble early on. It was a draw both Baffert and owner Ahmed Zayat were delighted with, as we can see here courtesy of sport journalist Scott Utterback:

Dortmund also has a favourable post, beginning in No. 8. He’s a major contender for victory having won all six of his races to date, and there’s little denying he has the power to surge to the front of the pack early on. A spot in the middle of the field also means jockey Martin Garcia has flexibility to navigate the horse as he wishes.

Harry How/Getty Images

As noted by Pat Forde of Yahoo, he’s arguably got a better draw than his stablemate:

Elsewhere, Todd Pletcher’s perennial poor fortune at Churchill Downs continued, as his two main hopes for the race—Carpe Diem and Materiality—were plucked in posts No. 2 and 3, respectively.

However, the trainer seemed unfazed by the selections: “Sometimes you get a good post and a bad trip, and vice versa,” he said, per Tim Wilkin of the (Albany) Times Union. “It will all work out.”

Rob Carr/Getty Images

While he will be putting on a brave face, it’s a stroke of misfortune that will have surely been a major disappointment to the legendary trainer, as noted by Mike Watchmaker of Daily Racing Form:

With both of Pletcher’s main hopes set to be hindered, this one will boil down to a battle between the Baffert horses. Although Dortmund has supreme pedigree coming into this one, as noted by racing expert Matt Dinerman, if American Pharoah puts it all together, he could sashay to victory over the 1.25-mile distance:

Espinoza will be an assuring influence on board and will be well-acquainted with what this horse can do after the Arkansas Derby triumph. Expect the experienced jockey to stay out of the battle early on, before guiding this magnificent colt to an impressive triumph in the latter stages.