Kentucky Derby 2017 Post Positions: Complete Listing for Every Horse

Post positions for the 2017 Kentucky Derby were drawn Wednesday morning at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The 143rd running of the year's first Triple Crown race is set for Saturday evening at the famed track known for its picturesque twin spires.

Always Dreaming, Classic Empire, Gunnevera, McCraken and Irish War Cry headline the wide-open 20-horse field set to compete in the Run for the Roses. They will contend for a $2 million purse, which includes a $1.24 million payout for the winner's connections.

Let's check out how the entire field shapes up following Wednesday's post draw. That's followed by a look at all of the important details for the event and an early preview of what should be the most competitive Kentucky Derby in years.

2017 Kentucky Derby Field

Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Odds
1	Lookin At Lee	Corey Lanerie	Steve Asmussen	20-1
2	Thunder Snow	Christophe Soumillon	Saeed bin Suroor	20-1
3	Fast and Accurate	Channing Hill	Mike Maker	50-1
4	Untrapped	Ricardo Santana Jr.	Steve Asmussen	30-1
5	Always Dreaming	John Velazquez	Todd Pletcher	5-1
6	State of Honor	Jose Lezcano	Mark Casse	30-1
7	Girvin	Mike Smith	Joe Sharp	15-1
8	Hence	Florent Geroux	Steve Asmussen	15-1
9	Irap	Mario Gutierrez	Doug O’Neill	20-1
10	Gunnevera	Javier Castellano	Antonio Sano	15-1
11	Battle of Midway	Flavien Prat	Jerry Hollendorfer	30-1
12	Sonneteer	Kent Desormeaux	Keith Desormeaux	50-1
13	J Boys Echo	Luis Saez	Dale Romans	20-1
14	Classic Empire	Julien Leparoux	Mark Casse	4-1
15	McCraken	Brian Hernandez Jr.	Ian Wilkes	5-1
16	Tapwrit	Jose Ortiz	Todd Pletcher	20-1
17	Irish War Cry	Rajiv Maragh	Graham Motion	6-1
18	Gormley	Victor Espinoza	John Shirreffs	15-1
19	Practical Joke	Joel Rosario	Chad Brown	20-1
20	Patch	Tyler Gaffalione	Todd Pletcher	30-1
AE	Royal Mo	Gary Stevens	John Shirreffs	20-1
AE	Master Plan	John Velazquez	Todd Pletcher	50-1

Viewing Information

Where: Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky

Post Time: Saturday, May 6 at 6:34 p.m. ET

Watch: NBC

Live Stream: NBC Sports Live

Tickets: ScoreBig.com

Race Preview

While the Kentucky Derby always holds a special place on the American sports calendar, it's lost a little bit of its mystique in recent years due to unusually top-heavy results. Four consecutive times the favorite has crossed the finished line first, dating back to Orb in 2013.

The high number of horses with a realistic chance of winning this year's race means there's a good chance that streak will come to an end Saturday.

Always Dreaming could break from the gate as the favorite thanks to a late surge that included breaking his maiden at Gulfstream Park in March and winning one of the top races on the prep schedule, the Grade I Florida Derby, in April.

There have been some concerns about his overeager workouts leading up to the race. On Tuesday, trainer Todd Pletcher told Alicia Wincze Hughes of BloodHorse they have been getting him under control and having a little extra spunk is better than the alternative.

"The horse is moving fantastic. We want to be able to control that energy and I think we've made big strides in doing that overnight," he said. "I would much rather be in this position than to come in with a horse not feeling good or hanging his head."

Always Dreaming is one of several promising hopefuls heading into the Derby, but the race doesn't have a dominant horse like other recent editions.

Classic Empire has three impressive victories in his last four starts, the Breeders' Futurity Stakes, Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Arkansas Derby—all Grade I races. He had a mundane showing in the Grade II Holy Bull Stakes in his penultimate warmup race, though.

Gunnevera showcased his potential with a win in March's Fountain of Youth Stakes, but he finished third to Always Dreaming and State of Honor in the Florida Derby.

Irish War Cry has won four of his five career starts, including a terrific showing in the Holy Bull Stakes to edge Gunnevera and Classic Empire. He endured an off day en route to a seventh-place showing in the Fountain of Youth Stakes, however.

Then there's Girvin and Gormley, who sandwiched Classic Empire by finishing in first and third place respectively in the prep-race standings, and McCraken. They aren't the betting favorite because, like the other contenders, there are flaws on their resumes, too.

Former Providence Journal columnist Jim Donaldson noted the weather could throw an additional wrench into an already tricky race to handicap:

All told, after a stretch of Kentucky Derby races where the best horse never relinquished the spotlight, Saturday's battle should be a lot more thrilling. It's going to take a truly special effort for any of the contenders to run away from such a well-rounded, competitive field.

In other words, the Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports should live up to its moniker this year.