Kentucky Derby Entries 2017: Horse Names, Post Positions, Vegas Odds and More

With an influx of Kentucky Derby stories this week, there are no shortage of betting guides or pieces analyzing race strategy and the field.

So instead, we'll break down all of the information you need to prep you for Saturday's race and go over some of the more interesting storylines at Churchill Downs this year.

Where: Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky

When: Saturday, May 6

Post Time: 6:34 p.m. ET 

TV: NBC (Coverage will run from 2:30 p.m. until 7:20 p.m.)

Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra

Tickets: ScoreBig.com

Purse: According to Beth Harris of Associated Press (via the Denver Post) the purse will be $2,395,800, with the winner claiming $1,635,800.

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	N/A	Todd Pletcher	50-1

Storylines

Garry Jones/Associated Press

Let's start out by getting one thing out of the way: There is only one amazing name at this year's Kentucky Derby, and that belongs to Patch, the one-eyed horse. In other years, perhaps names like Irish War Cry or Classic Empire might take the crown.

But not this year.

And when it comes to the best backstory, Irap's name takes it.

According to Blood Horse's Steve Haskin (h/t America's Best Racing):

"One of Paul Reddam's unnamed babies who was being vanned to Ocean Breeze Ranch had just undergone Interluekin-1 Receptor Antagonist Protein therapy, more commonly known as IRAP, used to treat the effects of joint disease in horses. When he arrived at the farm, the van driver saw the word IRAP on the horse's papers and assumed that was his name, so he identified the young horse as Irap."

"When Reddam was told about the van's driver's mixup the next day, he got a kick out of it and said, 'Why don't we just name him Irap?'"

So there you have it, a bit of fun trivia to impress your friends with while watching the Derby.

As for the race itself, the prevailing belief continues to be that this year's edition is wide open and far more even than in year's past. Classic Empire, Always Dreaming and McCraken are the betting favorites at the moment, but this isn't the sort of year that appears to have a clear top option. 

While the Kentucky Derby has seen four straight favorites win the race, per Neil Greenberg of the Washington Post, this year seems like a strong contender to break the streak.

You can probably detect the subtext to all of this talk about an uneven field. Many will surely be saying something like: "Patch has a chance to win! Our one-eyed hero who comes in at 30-1 odds could pull off the improbable and become horse racing's best story since, well, American Pharoah!"

According to Matias Grez of CNN, Patch developed an ulcer in his eye at two and didn't respond to recovery. Eventually, the eye had to be removed entirely. And there's even a twist to this tale: Patch was given his name before he ever lost his eye. 

Through it all, the horse never lost any spirit, according to his trainer, Todd Pletcher.

"He's a remarkable horse to lose his left eye in the middle of last summer and recover as quickly as he did," he told Reuters. "It seems to never faze him."

"It's a credit to him and his professionalism that he was able to adapt so seamlessly to it," he added. "I was concerned that it might compromise his ability in some way or the way he carried himself. I guess you don't know for sure but it certainly doesn't seem like it has."

How can you not root for Patch? 

Of course, betting on Patch is another story. There will be better options come Derby day. But in this year's race, there aren't any better stories than Irap and Patch.