Kentucky Derby Draw 2016: Post Positions Viewing Info, Field and Race Preview

There is always plenty of hope and optimism at the Kentucky Derby.

Every year, the Run for the Roses becomes the focal point of the horse racing world and generates plenty of interest well beyond it, as hordes of people watch to see which horse wins the race and earns the mantle of Triple Crown contender.

Whether it's a prohibitive favorite or steep underdog, the victorious thoroughbred is instantly famous and becomes the vehicle for so many hopes, dreams and yes, lavish bets. On Saturday, May 7, at the Churchill Downs Racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky, fans will learn the name of the next Triple Crown hopeful.

The draw for the post positions is set to start at 5:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday on NBC Sports Network. A livestream can be found at NBC Sports Live Extra.

Here's the projected field for the race.

Ranking	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Points
1	Gun Runner	Steven M. Asmussen	Florent Geroux	151
2	Nyquist	Doug F. O'Neill	Mario Gutierrez	130
3	Exaggerator	J. Keith Desormeaux	Kent J. Desormeaux	126
4	Outwork	Todd A. Pletcher	John R. Velazquez	120
5	Brody's Cause	Dale L. Romans	Luis Saez	114
6	Creator	Steven M. Asmussen	Ricardo Santana Jr.	110
7	Lani	Mikio Matsunaga	N/A	100
8	Mor Spirit	Bob Baffert	Gary L. Stevens	84
9	Mohaymen	Kiaran P. McLaughlin	Junior Alvarado	80
10	Danzing Candy	Clifford W. Sise Jr.	Mike E. Smith	60
11	Destin	Todd A. Pletcher	Javier Castellano	51
12	Suddenbreakingnews	Donnie K. Von Hemel	Luis Quinonez	50
13	Oscar Nominated	Michael J. Maker	Robby Albarado	50
14	Shagaf	Chad C. Brown	Irad Ortiz Jr.	50
15	Whitmore	Ron Moquett	Victor Espinoza	44
16	Tom's Ready	Dallas Stewart	Brian Hernandez Jr.	44
17	My Man Sam	Chad C. Brown	Julien R. Leparoux	40
18	Majesto	Gustavo Delgado	Javier Castellano	40
19	Trojan Nation	Patrick Gallagher	Aaron T. Gryder	40
20	Mo Tom	Thomas M. Amoss	Corey J. Lanerie	32

Preview

American Pharoah satiated the public's ravenous appetite for a Triple Crown winner in 2015 by becoming the first horse since Affirmed in 1978 to win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. 

The 37-year chasm between Triple Crown winners suggests that observers might not be so lucky as to see another horse pull off the famous feat in 2016, but again, there's plenty of hope to be found at the Kentucky Derby. The 142nd running of the race should be no different.

As of Tuesday at 7 a.m. ET, Odds Shark has Nyquist as the 10-3 favorite to win the Kentucky Derby. Nyquist is a perfect 7-of-7 in his career, with the most recent win coming by 3 ¼ lengths at the Grade 1 Xpressbet.com Florida Derby on April 2. With plenty of rest and excellent showings on a number of different tracks, the excitement surrounding Nyquist should hardly come as a surprise. 

Steve Asmussen, who trains points leader Gun Runner as well as sixth-ranked Creator, couldn't hide his admiration of Nyquist, per the Courier-Journal's Derby News Twitter account: 

The two horses oddsmakers currently peg as the biggest threats to Nyquist are Exaggerator and Mohaymen, both sporting 8-1 odds, per Odds Shark. Of those two, Mohaymen might be the more enticing pick.

Mohaymen boasts five wins from six career starts, with the only blemish a fourth-place finish at the Florida Derby. Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin diagnosed Mohaymen's issues in that event, per Daily Racing Form's David Grening:

"

In reviewing the Florida Derby, McLaughlin said Mohaymen, the 4-5 favorite, was widest of all into the first turn and down the backstretch. He made a move around the far turn to try to challenge Nyquist but was turned aside and flattened out down the stretch.

“No. 1, I think we were on the worst part of the track,” McLaughlin said. “No. 2, we traveled 54 feet farther [than Nyquist] on the worst part of the track. No one was going to win from out there.”

Another factor, McLaughlin felt, was the heat and humidity in south Florida that afternoon, which might have taken something out of Mohaymen, who did van 45 minutes from the Palm Meadows training center for the race.

"

It will be up to jockey Junior Alvarado to help Mohaymen run the kind of clean race likely necessary to beat out Nyquist and the rest of a large field. The Venezuelan has been atop Mohaymen for all six of the horse's career starts. The familiarity between the two could come in handy on Saturday, though Alvarado will have to be sharp and read the race extremely well.

Speaking of jockeys, Victor Espinoza was atop American Pharoah for all three legs of the Triple Crown last year, and he is going for another historic trifecta of sorts in 2016.

Kamran Jebreili/Associated Press

Espinoza is looking to become the first jockey to win the Kentucky Derby three years in a row, as he also steered California Chrome to victory at Churchill Downs in 2014.

Espinoza will have his work cut out for him riding the unheralded Whitmore, who has two wins in six career starts, but he's optimistic about his chances. 

“The only time you don’t have a chance to win the Derby is when you don’t have a horse in the Derby," he said, per the Courier-Journal's Jonathan Lintner.

As for trainers of note, the legendary Bob Baffert trained American Pharoah for last year's famous run, and he will be in charge of another horse this year in Mor Spirit. While a bit low in the points standings and facing some long odds, Mor Spirit boasts an impressive resume of three wins and four second-place finishes from seven career starts. 

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

That's certainly the record of a strong, Baffert-trained horse, and it could make Whitmore an intriguing underdog pick, but the Lexington Herald-Leader's Alicia Wincze Hughes noted the three-year-old can be a bit of a handful:

"

The long-striding Mor Spirit can be a quirky horse to work. To the relief of his connections, the ridgling son of Eskendereya had it together in his last major move before Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, covering 5 furlongs in :59.80 while working in company with stablemate Jimbo Fallon.

Getting Mor Spirit interested in his morning activities has been an occasional problem, even causing Baffert and Stevens to abort a planned 6-furlong move in late February when he was unresponsive after they forgot to remove his earplugs. There was no laziness in the Grade I winner Monday, however, as he broke off about 3 lengths behind his workmate and clocked splits of :12.40, :23.60, :35.40, :46.80 to finish on even terms with a gallop-out in 1:13.20. 

"

A favorable post position might further boost Whitmore's chances, or perhaps cement on the favorites as the horse to beat. The inside post positions have produced a number of winners between them, although the No. 10 spot is one of the top draws with nine winners since 1930 (Note: Post position stats in this link updated through 2012).

A truly special horse can of course make it from anywhere on the track, as American Pharoah proved by swooping in from the No. 15 post to win it last year. The large fields typical of the Kentucky Derby often make for interesting race dynamics.

If the likes of Nyquist and Exaggerator start from favorable positions near the inside but not necessarily on the rail, it could be difficult for the outsiders to overtake them.

All horse and jockey stats courtesy of Equibase.com unless otherwise noted.