Kentucky Derby 2017 Post Positions: Horse Odds, Prize-Money Predictions and More

Classic Empire and Always Dreaming maintain the top odds heading into the 2017 Kentucky Derby following a favourable draw for the post positions and solid work leading up to the race.

The duo are followed closely by Irish War Cry, McCraken and Gunnevera, as this year's field is remarkably deep and could serve up a few surprises.

According to SportingNews.com, the total prize money for this year's race is $2 million, with the winner's stable receiving $1.24 million. Here's a look at the field, complete with post positions and odds, courtesy of Oddsshark.com (Odds accurate as of Friday, May 5):

Post Position	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Odds
1	Lookin At Lee	Corey Lanerie	Steve Asmussen	33-1
2	Thunder Snow	Christophe Soumillon	Saeed bin Suroor	18-1
3	Fast and Accurate	Channing Hill	Mike Maker	66-1
4	Untrapped	Ricardo Santana Jr.	Steve Asmussen	50-1
5	Always Dreaming	John Velazquez	Todd Pletcher	9-2
6	State of Honor	Jose Lezcano	Mark Casse	33-1
7	Girvin	Mike Smith	Joe Sharp	16-1
8	Hence	Florent Geroux	Steve Asmussen	16-1
9	Irap	Mario Gutierrez	Doug O’Neill	18-1
10	Gunnevera	Javier Castellano	Antonio Sano	12-1
11	Battle of Midway	Flavien Prat	Jerry Hollendorfer	20-1
12	Sonneteer	Kent Desormeaux	Keith Desormeaux	40-1
13	J Boys Echo	Luis Saez	Dale Romans	28-1
14	Classic Empire	Julien Leparoux	Mark Casse	19-4
15	McCraken	Brian Hernandez Jr.	Ian Wilkes	6-1
16	Tapwrit	Jose Ortiz	Todd Pletcher	28-1
17	Irish War Cry	Rajiv Maragh	Graham Motion	6-1
18	Gormley	Victor Espinoza	John Shirreffs	18-1
19	Practical Joke	Joel Rosario	Chad Brown	25-1
20	Patch	Tyler Gaffalione	Todd Pletcher	33-1

Classic Empire and Always Dreaming have been regarded as the favourites for the Run for the Roses for some time now, and the latter has boosted his profile with some excellent work the last few days.

The colt previously looked difficult to handle, but that has since changed, per David Grening of Daily Racing Form:

Always Dreaming will start from Post 5, giving the speedster an excellent opportunity to nestle near the head of the race from a good start. With excellent stamina―displayed in the Florida Derby―he should have an opportunity to explode coming out of the turn.

Classic Empire is more of a finisher, relying on superb closing speed in the final stretch. Post 14 hasn't favoured runners in the Derby as much as the inside slots historically, but it's far from a death sentence, especially given the colt's running style.

Irish War Cry has impressed leading up to the race, and per Grening, he seems to be peaking at just the right time:

While punters may be intrigued by the colt, it's worth noting Post 17 hasn't produced a single winner in Derby history. While the outside slots have been more productive in the last few years than before, Post 17 is still one to stay away from.

McCraken was drawn into Post 15, another slot that historically doesn't favour horses but has seen success recently, with American Pharoah starting there on his way to winning the first leg of the Triple Crown.

Prediction: Always Dreaming's starting position closer to the rail and his excellent long speed are a fantastic combination. If he can't create a good gap coming out of the turn, however, Classic Empire should be ready to pounce. The latter is an excellent finisher with a proven track record―he should be able to gallop to the win.