Kentucky Derby 2016: Post Positions, Latest Vegas Odds and Picks After Post Draw

On Wednesday evening, the post positions were drawn for the 142nd running of the Kentucky Derby. The 20 horses in the field, along with their trainers and jockeys, are now in the final preparations for the first step in the Triple Crown, one year after American Pharoah pulled off the historic feat.

Below, we'll take a look at the post positions and morning-line odds and offer some predictions for this year's Derby.

Post Positions

Post	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Morning-Line Odds
1	Trojan Nation	Paddy Gallagher	Aaron T. Gryder	15-1
2	Suddenbreakingnews	Donnie Von Hemel	Luis S. Quinonez	20-1
3	Creator	Steven Asmussen	Ricardo Santana Jr.	10-1
4	Mo Tom	Thomas Amoss	Corey J. Lanerie	20-1
5	Gun Runner	Steven Asmussen	Florent Geroux	10-1
6	My Man Sam	Chad Brown	Julien R. Leparoux	20-1
7	Oscar Nominated	Ken and Sarah Ramsey	Robby Albarado	50-1
8	Lani	Koji Maeda	Yutaka Take	30-1
9	Destin	Todd Pletcher	Javier Castellano	15-1
10	Whitmore	Ron Moquett	Victor Espinoza	20-1
11	Exaggerator	J. Keith Desormeaux	Kent J. Desormeaux	8-1
12	Tom's Ready	Dallas Stewart	Brian Joseph Hernandez Jr.	30-1
13	Nyquist	Doug O'Neill	Mario Gutierrez	3-1
14	Mohaymen	Kiaran McLaughlin	Junior Alvarado	10-1
15	Outwork	Todd Pletcher	John R. Velazquez	15-1
16	Shagaf	Chad Brown	Irad Ortiz Jr.	20-1
17	Mor Spirit	Bob Baffert	Gary L. Stevens	12-1
18	Majesto	Gustavo Delgado	Javier Castellano	30-1
19	Brody's Cause	Dale Romans	Luis Saez	12-1
20	Danzing Candy	Clifford Sise Jr.	Mike E. Smith	15-1

Predictions

Garry Jones/Associated Press

Well, let's get the boring, obvious and ultimately smart prediction out of the way first: Nyquist will win this year's Kentucky Derby.

Nyquist's resume is tough to argue against:

• He's undefeated in seven races.
• He's beaten Exaggerator, the horse with the second-best odds in this race, three times.
• He beat Mohaymen, one of three horses with 10-1 odds, by eight lengths at the Florida Derby.
• Like American Pharaoh before him, Nyquist has excellent tactical speed, which means he is capable of staying close to the leaders before winning late. He's versatile enough to keep up in a fast start and strong enough to close a slower race.

But will his post position have a major effect?

His trainer, Doug O'Neill, doesn't think so.

"Breaking from 13 is fine," O'Neill said after the draw, per Jeremy Balan of BloodHorse.com. "He was No. 13 when he won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) at Keeneland. The post didn't matter to us a ton, but we're happy with the outside, for sure."

Dana O'Neil of ESPN offered a reminder that a memorable horse had success from No. 13 as well:

So right now, it's hard to bet against Nyquist, though of course anything can happen. But what about the rest of the field?

Horse racing writer Steve Haskin broke down the draw:

Indeed, this draw should make the undefeated Gun Runner a popular pick. With basically no early speed on the inside to challenge him, he should have a smooth run through the first turn. That will put him in excellent position immediately and offers the possibility of a dream run.

Gun Runner will need to break early and have a strong start, of course. But if jockey Florent Geroux gets his horse to go early, he has an excellent chance at stealing this race. 

Finally, Mohaymen is still a dangerous horse who didn't get a great run at the Florida Derby. With a better line, might he have given Nyquist a closer race?

It's hard to say. But Mohaymen appears to be a better horse than he showed down the stretch in Florida.

Here are the final picks for win, place and show:

1. Nyquist
2. Gun Runner
3. Mohaymen

Let the quest for history begin.

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