Kentucky Derby 2019 Post Positions: Draw Start Time, Horses Lineup and More

There is nothing a trainer, jockey, owner or bettor can do about which post their horse will draw for the 2019 Kentucky Derby. 

But it could have a huge effect on their chances of victory come Saturday at Churchill Downs.

The post position draw is made at random, and for this year's race it will take place on Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET. 

Each horse should, theoretically, have the same chance of winning the famous race after the draw is made as it did before.

But there are trends to look out for, and positions to be avoided.

Here is a look at the current lineup for the 2019 Run for the Roses ahead of the post position draw, along with the odds, according to Oddschecker:

Omaha Beach, 6-1

Game Winner, 7-1

Roadster, 7-1

Improbable, 8-1

Tacitus, 10-1

Maximum Security, 12-1

Vekoma, 14-1

Code of Honor, 16-1

Cutting Humor, 25-1

By My Standards, 25-1

Win Win Win, 25-1

Tax, 25-1

War of Will, 25-1

Spinoff, 33-1

Haikal, 33-1

Plus Que Parfait, 33-1

Long Range Toddy, 33-1

Country House, 33-1

Gray Magician, 50-1

Master Fencer, 66-1

Assessing the statistics for success by post position down the years, there is one obvious takeaway: avoid No. 17. 

It is the only one of the 20 gates to have never produced a winner. There is a caveat in that when the field used to be smaller there was no need for a No. 17.

However, no winners from 40 runs from gate 17 is a poor record. Even gate 20, used just 17 times, has produced one winner (Big Brown in 2008).

The connections of the horse that gets drawn in No. 17 this year will sensibly talk about breaking the duck in 2019, and there is no logical reason why it has drawn a blank for so long. But it is one to be avoided.

As is, potentially, No. 2. A gate so close to the inside rail should be advantageous given it means a shorter route around the 10 furlong track.

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But the last winner of the Derby to start from gate two was Affirmed in 1978. Affirmed went on to become the 11th winner of the Triple Crown, with the 12th not coming until American Pharoah in 2015 before Justify repeated the feat last year.

The inside posts have proved a scourge to Derby hopefuls in recent years, though, with no winners coming from the inside three gates in the 21st century. 

Somewhere in the middle of the pack seems to be the sweet spot.

Winner Super Saver came out of No. 4 in 2010. No. 5 has 10 winners to its name, including Always Dreaming in 2017, more than any other post.

Meanwhile, posts No. 7, 8 and 10 have combined for 23 winners, including Justify last year. 

Nyquist won from No. 13 in 2016 and American Pharoah from No. 15, proving a wider berth is far from terminal to a horse's Derby chances.

But it seems clear that the extreme ends of the starting gate are to be avoided.