Kentucky Derby 2019 Post Positions: Horse Odds, Prize Money, Predictions, More

Roadster and Improbable are the favourites to win the 2019 Kentucky Derby after previously fancied colt Omaha Beach was removed from the field for the 145th Run for the Roses on Wednesday.

Post positions were announced prior to Omaha Beach's scratching, and it's reasonable to predict the winner of today's race will come from one of a trio of horses entered by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. Besides Roadster and Improbable, Game Winner is another of Baffert's colts to watch.

Away from his stable, War of Will, who owns the first post position, Tacitus and Cutting Humor are worthy outsiders looking to collect the $1.86 million winners' share of the total purse worth $3 million.

Here are the post positions, along with odds for the field, per the race's official website:

1. War of Will: 17-1

2. Tax: 35-1

3. By My Standards: 16-1

4. Gray Magician: 31-1

5. Improbable: 5-1

6. Vekoma: 22-1

7. Maximum Security: 9-2

8. Tacitus: 5-1

9. Plus Que Parfait: 55-1

10. Cutting Humor: 24-1

11. Haikal: SCR

12. Omaha Beach: SCR

13. Code of Honor: 13-1

14. Win Win Win: 15-1

15. Master Fencer: 54-1

16. Game Winner: 6-1

17. Roadster: 10-1

18. Long Range Toddy: 49-1

19. Spinoff: 49-1

20. Country House: 62-1

21. Bodexpress: 98-1

Game Winner to Beat Roadster by a Nose

Losing Omaha Beach because of an entrapped epiglottis, per For The Win's Andrew Joseph, has made choosing a winner trickier business. Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com dubbed the post-Omaha Beach field "wide-open."

If there are reasons to believe in the obvious alternatives, it comes from the backing and preparations attached to many of them. Roadster, Improbable and Game Winner have all benefited from Baffert's expertise and tutelage.

Game Winner impressed in his youth, winning the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile as a two-year-old. He hasn't won this year but caught the eye with a runner-up effort in the Santa Anita Derby in April.

He was second to Roadster then but only adrift by a half-length. With Joel Rosario in the saddle, Game Winner has a great chance to beat his stablemate on Saturday.

Rosario knows what it takes to win at Chruchill Downs, having ridden Orb to victory in 2013's race. His experience will prove crucial in taking advantage of Roadster, as both horses will be running wide trips.

Cutting Humor to Finish 3rd

If there's an outsider to believe in, it has to be Cutting Humor. The presence of Mike Smith in the saddle is a major reason why.

A Hall of Fame jockey, Smith was set to take the reins for Omaha Beach, but he's switched over to a horse trained by Todd Pletcher, a winner on two previous occasions in Louisville.

Pletcher was impressed by how well Cutting Humor ran on the hard surface of the 1 and ⅛-mile track at the Sunland Derby back in March, per Ron Mitchell of BloodHorse. He believes it's good preparation for running the 10 furlongs at Churchill Downs.

Running from post No. 10 also offers an historical boost:

A gifted and knowledgeable jockey setting the pace for a well-prepared Bay Colt effective on dirt adds up to an outsider set to defy the odds. Cutting Humor won't beat Baffert's leading charges, but he will be good enough to be the third to cross the line.