Kentucky Derby 2019 Horses: Triple Crown Odds, Projected Payouts and More

May 3, 2019

The 145th running of the Kentucky Derby will take place at Churchill Downs in Louisville on Saturday evening.

Will one of the three Bob Baffert-trained horses notch the win, or will another horse emerge from the field? Regardless of the victor, it should be an entertaining race to watch.

Heading into the race, here's a look at the post positions, odds and payouts for this year's Derby as well as some predictions for the Run for the Roses.

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Kentucky Derby Post Positions, Odds

1. War of Will (15-1)

2. Tax (20-1)

3. By My Standards (15-1)

4. Gray Magician (50-1)

5. Improbable (5-1)

6. Vekoma (15-1)

7. Maximum Security (8-1)

8. Tacitus (8-1)

9. Plus Que Parfait (30-1)

10. Cutting Humor (30-1)

11. Haikal (30-1)

12. Code of Honor (12-1)

13. Win Win Win (12-1)

14. Master Fencer (50-1)

15. Game Winner (9-2)

16. Roadster (5-1)

17. Long Range Toddy (30-1)

18. Spinoff (30-1)

19. Country House (30-1)

20. Bodexpress (30-1)

All horses that drew posts Nos. 13-20 moved in one following Omaha Beach's scratch, per the Derby's Twitter account. Bodexpress took No. 20. Odds via SportsLine.

Kentucky Derby Payouts

The purse for the Kentucky Derby has been raised to $3 million this year. Here's how much the top finishers' owners will take home:

Winner: $1.86 million
Second: $600,000
Third: $300,000
Fourth: $150,000
Fifth: $90,000

Predictions

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

Game Winner, Improbable and Roadster are the favorites to win, and it will be one from that Baffert-trained trio that claims the victory.

All three have their strengths, and it could depend on which one has the best start and quickly gets to the front of the field.

Improbable has shown the ability to finish strong, as it nearly chased down Omaha Beach (the early Kentucky Derby favorite that was scratched due to a respiratory issue) in the Arkansas Derby. If Improbable can start strong, it could use a similar late surge to hold off the rest of the Kentucky Derby field.

Expect that to happen as Improbable will emerge as the winner, giving Baffert his sixth Kentucky Derby victory.

"He can be a little bit feisty," Baffert said, according to ESPN.com's Katherine Terrell. "He's got a bigger engine on him, he gets excited a bit, but that's just him."

One wild card is Maximum Security, which is undefeated but hasn't faced many of the other top Kentucky Derby contenders. It will have a strong showing but fall short to Improbable in the end.

Pick: Improbable