Kentucky Derby Post Draw 2016: Contenders, Dark Horses with Best Odds

One year after American Pharoah ended the 37-year Triple Crown drought, an undefeated Nyquist leads a field of 20 into the 2016 Kentucky Derby.

Nyquist has won all seven of his career starts and is a 3-1 favorite to win the Run for the Roses, according to Odds Shark. 

Nyquist won the Breeders Cup Juvenile last fall, and jockey Mario Gutierrez has a brilliant colt who has shown the ability to stalk the pace and then make his move and put the field away with a strong run down the stretch.

While Nyquist has a perfect record at this point, there are no guarantees he will come out of the race with his record intact. Contenders like Exaggerator and Mohaymen will have a chance to give Nyquist a major challenge in the first Triple Crown race of the season.

The Run for the Roses is not just about the prime contenders with the lowest odds. While favorites have won the last three Kentucky Derby races, long shots have been successful many times on the first Saturday in May.

Majesto, Suddenbreakingnews and My Man Sam are among the dark horses who have a shot to have their names etched into the history book. Even if those horses don't win, they can still figure in the exotic betting action.

Nyquist drew the No. 13 post for the race, while Exaggerator will be two spots to the inside at the No. 11 spot. David Grening of Daily Racing Form points out that the No. 13 post has been successful in the past:

Jockey Kent Desormeaux will be riding for his brother Keith aboard Exaggerator, and the trainer seemed to be quite happy with the post. However, he revealed to Beth Harris of the Associated Press (via the Washington Post) that Kent was a bit concerned because the horse will have to stand in the gate for quite a while as the other horses in the field are loaded and get ready to start the race.

Post	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Odds
1	Trojan Nation	Patrick Gallagher	Aaron T. Gryder	66-1
2	Suddenbreakingnews	Donnie Von Hemel	Luis S. Quinonez	20-1
3	Creator	Steven Asmussen	Ricardo Santana Jr.	12-1
4	Mo Tom	Thomas Amoss	Corey J. Lanerie	22-1
5	Gun Runner	Steven Asmussen	Florent Geroux	9-1
6	My Man Sam	Chad Brown	Irad Ortiz Jr.	20-1
7	Oscar Nominated	Michael J. Maker	Julien R. Leparoux	66-1
8	Lani	Mikio Matsunaga	Yutaka Take	28-1
9	Destin	Todd Pletcher	Javier Castellano	14-1
10	Whitmore	Ron Moquett	Victor Espinoza	18-1
11	Exaggerator	J. Keith Desormeaux	Kent J. Desormeaux	15-2
12	Tom's Ready	Dallas Stewart	Brian Joseph Hernandez Jr.	40-1
13	Nyquist	Doug O'Neill	Mario Gutierrez	3-1
14	Mohaymen	Kiaran McLaughlin	Junior Alvarado	8-1
15	Outwork	Todd Pletcher	John R. Velazquez	16-1
16	Shagaf	Chad Brown	Joel Rosario	28-1
17	Mor Spirit	Bob Baffert	Gary L. Stevens	14-1
18	Majesto	Gustavo Delgado	Emisael Jaramillo	33-1
19	Brody's Cause	Dale Romans	Luis Saez	14-1
20	Danzing Candy	Clifford Sise Jr.	Mike E. Smith	20-1

Exaggerator is a 15-2 shot in the race, and he is coming off a victory in the Santa Anita Derby. He has four victories to his credit in his career, and this is a strong colt who has the experience to run in difficult conditions.

Mohaymen appeared to be the strongest of contenders until he met Nyquist in the Florida Derby in early April. Until that race, Mohaymen had been victorious in all five of his previous races. However, he was a badly beaten fourth in that race, and he may have a hard time shaking what happened to him, especially when he is starting right next to Nyquist. 

Mohaymen is in the No. 14 post.

Majesto could be a horse that pays off dramatically for long-shot players. Majesto is a 33-1 shot, and he has been improving throughout his three-year-old campaign.

Majesto finished second to Nyquist in the Florida Derby, and his performance was impressive because he ran over the wettest part of the track. Majesto showed no hesitation racing in difficult and wet conditions, and he has shown he can run long distances because he already has three races of nine furlongs to his credit.

Suddenbreakingnews is a 20-1 shot who won the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park in February before finishing fifth in the Rebel States and second in the Arkansas Derby.

Suddenbreakingnews had difficult trips in each of his last two races, and he could be a factor if he can avoid major trouble in this race. That might be difficult, considering he is starting out of the No. 2 hole. 

He is a stretch runner, so it will be important for jockey Luis S. Quinonez to keep him out of trouble and avoid as much traffic as possible. If he is successful, the long Churchill Downs stretch could help him mount a memorable run. 

My Man Sam is also a 20-1 shot with two days to go before the race, and he has quite a bit to offer. My Man Sam had a wide trip in the Blue Grass Stakes, but he still managed to finish an impressive second to a powerful horse in Brody's Cause.

My Man Sam is another horse that needs a clean trip because he is known as a deep closer. He will begin his move in the stretch, but he won't be at top speed until the final 150 or 200 yards. If he does have a chance to win, he is not likely to get to the lead until the final jump or two.