Kentucky Derby 2020 Lineup: Full Race Guide for All Horses and Jockeys

The lineup is set and the post positions have been drawn for the 2020 Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs.

This will be the season's second Triple Crown race after the COVID-19 pandemic forced officials to move it off its traditional date, the first Saturday in May. The Belmont Stakes ran in June, with Tiz the Law pulling away down the final stretch for the win.

Tiz the Law only had to fend off nine other competitors at Belmont Park. Pulling out a victory Saturday will likely be trickier since the field will have nearly doubled in size.

Still, the colt is the clear favorite in Lexington, Kentucky.

2020 Kentucky Derby Lineup

1. Finnick the Fierce (Jockey: Martin Garcia): SCR

2. Max Player (Jockey: Ricardo Santana Jr.): 15-1

3. Enforceable (Jockey: Adam Beschizza): 22-1

4. Storm the Court (Jockey: Julien Leparoux): 25-1

5. Major Fed (Jockey: James Graham): 26-1

6. King Guillermo (Jockey: Samy Camacho): SCR

7. Money Moves (Jockey: Javier Castellano): 15-1

8. South Bend (Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione): 36-1

9. Mr. Big News (Jockey: Gabriel Saez): 45-1

10. Thousand Words (Jockey: Florent Geroux): 9-1

11. Necker Island (Jockey: Miguel Mena): 42-1

12. Sole Volante (Jockey: Luca Panici): 26-1

13. Attachment Rate (Jockey: Joe Talamo): 46-1

14. Winning Impression (Jockey: Joe Rocco Jr.): 47-1

15. Ny Traffic (Jockey: Paco Lopez): 18-1

16. Honor A. P. (Jockey: Mike Smith): 7-1

17. Tiz the Law (Jockey: Manny Franco): 1-1

18. Authentic (Jockey: John Velazquez): 8-1

Odds via KentuckyDerby.com

Race Guide

When it came to the Belmont Stakes, who wasn't competing almost overshadowed the horses who made the trip to Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Charlatan, Maxfield and Nadal were all shaping up to be contenders, only to withdraw from the event.

The Kentucky Derby, meanwhile, will be without a small handful of prominent jockeys. Jay Privman of Daily Racing Form explained last month how Irad Ortiz Jr., Jose Ortiz, Joel Rosario and Flavien Prat all turned down the opportunity to participate in the Run for the Roses because of COVID-19-related restrictions at their current tracks.

That makes it all but inevitable the Kentucky Derby will see a first-time winner.

Of course, don't count out John Velazquez, who has triumphed at Churchill Downs with Always Dreaming (2017) and Animal Kingdom (2011). To the extent past experience can be beneficial in horse racing, Velazquez will have a small leg up on the field.

Riding a strong horse will be far more beneficial in his quest for a third Derby victory.

Authentic prevailed in the Sham Stakes and San Felipe stakes prior to a runner-up finish to Honor A. P. in the Santa Anita Derby. He rebounded by taking the Haskell Stakes in a photo finish with Ny Traffic in July.

The aforementioned Ny Traffic could play the role of spoiler as well.

While he has yet to register a graded stakes win, he was third in the Risen Star Stakes and then second in the Louisiana Derby and Matt Winn before his close call with Authentic. Fans shouldn't look past that kind of consistency.

Few jockeys in the 2020 Derby are more decorated than Javier Castellano. He's a two-time winner of the Preakness Stakes and guided Ghostzapper to the Breeders Cup Classic title in 2004. His success at Churchill Downs is limited to the 2016 Kentucky Oaks, however.

"He's ridden in a bunch of these big races and for a guy that's won every other big race in America, this is the one that's eluded him," agent John Panagot said of Castellano in May 2019, per the Buffalo News' Gene Kershner. "Listen, Mike Smith was 40 when he finally won one and Johnny V was just turning 40 when he won his first."

Castellano was originally slated to ride Caracaro, who withdrew from the Derby. Now, he'll be guiding Money Moves, who has yet to run in a graded stakes race.

The combination of Castellano and trainer Todd Pletcher is enough to make Money Moves a horse to watch Saturday.