Kentucky Derby 2019: Post Time, Race Schedule and Latest Prize-Money Info
Twenty horses come into the 2019 Kentucky Derby with hopes of being the next Triple Crown winner.
Two of the last four Kentucky Derby winners have gone on to win the Triple Crown, but the task may be a bit more difficult in 2019 since there is not a dominant horse like American Pharoah or Justify in Saturday's field.
However, there are three top horses trained by Bob Baffert, who won the two most recent Triple Crowns.
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The team surrounding the champion horse is set for a massive payday, as the 2019 winner takes home $1.86 million of a $3 million purse.
2019 Kentucky Derby Info
Date: Saturday, May 4
Post Time: 6:50 p.m. ET
TV Coverage: NBC from 2:30 p.m. - 7:15 p.m. ET
Prize-Money Info
The $3 million purse gets divided between the top five horses in the finishing order.
The winner receives $1.86 million, with the owner taking 62 percent of the purse and the jockey earning 10 percent of the winnings.
Second place earns $600,000, third place takes home $300,000, fourth place comes with $150,000, and fifth place leaves the track with $90,000.
Kentucky Derby Odds
Field Is More Wide-Open Than Previous Years
Although Baffert comes into the race with three of the favorites, he admitted to ESPN's Marty Smith that he has never seen a field so close in terms of racing style.
The expected competitiveness throughout the field is reflected in the odds listing for the race.
Baffert horses Roadster, Game Winner and Improbable have the three best lines, while Tacitus and Maximum Security are both under 10-1 as well.
If you go a bit further down the odds chart, half of the field has odds of 12-1 or lower to win the first leg of the Triple Crown.
Of the three Baffert horses, Roadster could be seen as the favorite after he won the Santa Anita Derby over Game Winner at the start of April.
However, Roadster won't have Mike Smith aboard as the jockey, as he opted to ride the now-scratched Omaha Beach instead.
Improbable, who has a pair of second-place finishes in 2019, appears to have the most ideal post position of the trio of Baffert horses.
Improbable starts in post No. 5 with four horses with much higher odds starting to the inside of him. If he gets off to a fast start, he could be able to take the inside position.
Maximum Security and Tacitus are solid options as well, as both horses come into Churchill Downs off victories.
Maximum Security took first at the Florida Derby, while Tacitus won the Wood Memorial and Tampa Bay Derby.
Vekoma, who starts to the right of Improbable in post No. 6, also has a victory in the last month from the Blue Grass Stakes.
With so many horses capable of leading the field across the finish line, we should expect plenty of lead changes throughout the race.
And given how many horses could win Saturday's race, we could be in for one of the most electric finishes in recent memory.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from KentuckyDerby.com.
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