Kentucky Derby 2015 Lineup: Post Positions, Top Contenders and Horse Rankings

American Pharoah, Dortmund and Carpe Diem lead the betting ahead of the 2015 Kentucky Derby on Saturday following Wednesday's post position draw.

However, they are by no means the only three of the 20 horses capable of winning at Churchill Downs. The likes of Materiality, Mubtaahij, Itsaknockout and International Star are sure to compete over the 10 furlongs.

The 141st Run for the Roses is set to be a hugely competitive race, as each jockey, trainer and horse goes in search of the first leg of the elusive Triple Crown.

Read on for a closer examination of the top contenders, as well as the post positions and ranking for each horse.

Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Ranking
1	Ocho Ocho Ocho	Elvis Trujillo	Jim Cassidy	18
2	Carpe Diem	John Velazquez	Todd Pletcher	3
3	Materiality	Javier Castellano	Todd Pletcher	7
4	Tencendur	Manny Franco	George Weaver	15
5	Danzig Moon	Julien Leparoux	Mark Casse	13
6	Mubtaahij	Christophe Soumillion	Mike de Kock	6
7	El Kabeir	Calvin Borel	John Terranova II	8
8	Dortmund	Martin Garcia	Bob Baffert	2
9	Bolo	Rafael Bejarano	Carla Gaines	19
10	Firing Line	Gary Stevens	Simon Callaghan	12
11	Stanford	Florent Geroux	Todd Pletcher	16
12	International Star	Miguel Mena	Mike Maker	1
13	Itsaknockout	Luis Saez	Todd Pletcher	11
14	Keen Ice	Kent Desormeaux	Dale Romans	21
15	Frosted	Joel Rosario	Kiaran McLaughlin	5
16	War Story	Joe Talamo	Tom Amoss	14
17	Mr. Z	Ramon Vazquez	D. Wayne Lukas	17
18	American Pharoah	Victor Espinoza	Bob Baffert	4
19	Upstart	Jose Ortiz	Rick Violette Jr.	9
20	Far Right	Mike Smith	Ron Moquett	10

American Pharoah

Rob Carr/Getty Images

The hype around American Pharoah is huge. The colt has long been tipped as the Kentucky Derby favourite, and it certainly looks as though he will head into the race as the horse to beat.

Ridden by 2002 and 2014 Derby-winning jockey Victor Espinoza, Pharoah blitzed the field at the Arkansas Derby and has won his last four races.

Trainer Bob Baffert—victorious in the Kentucky Derby in 1997, 1998 and 2002—has every reason to believe he may have a fourth Roses winner on his hands, as American Pharoah is blistering.

He received a glowing review from private clocker and bloodstock agent Gary Young on Sunday, per USA Today:

"

I have been doing this for 35 years, and he might be the best horse I've ever seen. He's simply like Michael Jordan and stays in the air like he did in his rookie year. He stays in the air longer than any horse, and you get the feeling that there's not one gear left, but he may have two, three or four gears. 

"

The hype is real. American Pharoah is the real deal, and SportingNews.com's Steve Petrella is tipping him for a potential Triple Crown. 

Pharoah can take one step toward that immense achievement on Sunday, but he will have to fend off a very strong field.

Dortmund

Uncredited/Associated Press

Also trained by Bob Baffert, Dortmund is undefeated in six career races, and will be ridden by Martin Garcia.

Despite having enough points already to qualify for the Kentucky Derby, owner Kaleem Shah chose to run Dortmund at the Santa Anita Derby on April 4.

Dortmund blew the field away—despite losing a shoe—and will look to follow in the footsteps of I'll Have Another and California Chrome who, in 2012 and 2014 respectively, went on to win the Derby having triumphed at Santa Anita, per Horse Racing Nation.

American Pharoah is clearly going to be difficult to beat, but as noted by sports writer Pat Forde, Dortmund claimed a slight advantage in the post draw on Wednesday:

Dortmund has the strength, power and speed to mount a serious challenge on Saturday.

Carpe Diem

Trainer Todd Pletcher has not had the best of times at the Kentucky Derby. He had a winner with Super Saver in 2010, but that is his only triumph from 40 entries.

This year he trains four of the horses in the field of 20, but his best chance of victory comes in the shape of Carpe Diem, per racing analyst Joe Kristufek:

The mount of 2011 Roses winner John Velazquez, Carpe Diem won the Blue Grass Stakes earlier this month and has four victories from five career races—second to Texas Red in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile being his only defeat.

Likely to be in the mix as the finishing post draws near, Carpe Diem is a definite contender for Derby victory and will perhaps be the horse that sees Pletcher's luck improve.