Kentucky Derby Draw 2020: Post Positions Viewing Info, Field and Race Preview

The field is set for the 2020 Kentucky Derby but there's still some important details to figure out before a historic September version of the Run for the Roses. 

That would be the ever-important post draw for the 17-horse field. Post positions can play an important role in the 1¼-mile race, with the numbers showing some spots have produced more winners than others. 

The No. 5 spot, for instance, has produced the most Derby winners. Ten horses have donned the Roses after starting there, including 2017 winner Always Dreaming. 

Whichever horse lands the No. 17 spot will make history with a victory. It has never produced a winner while No. 18 berth produced two winners, including 2015's American Pharaoh. 

According to the Derby's website, the draw will be a "traditional 'pill pull' in which horses' entry blanks are pulled simultaneously with a numbered pill to determine what stall a horse will break from the starting gate."

Kentucky Derby Draw 2020

When: Tuesday, September 1 at 11 a.m. ET

Stream: KentuckyDerby.com

Kentucky Derby Field

• Tiz the Law (6-5)
• Honor A.P. (8-1)
• Authentic (10-1)
• Max Player (17-1)
• Thousand Words (17-1)
• Ny Traffic (17-1)
• King Guillermo (23-1)
• Sole Volante (53-1)
• Attachment Rate (53-1)
• Enforceable (53-1)
• Finnick the Fierce (53-1)
• Storm the Court (53-1)
• Winning Impression (61-1)
• Necker Island (80-1)
• Major Fed (80-1)
• Money Moves (not listed)

Odds via Vegas Insider

Preview

The 146th running of the Kentucky Derby is already one of the most unique in the history of the race. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the race that is usually run as the first leg of the Triple Crown in May has become the second leg of the trio this year. 

A shortened Belmont Stakes, in which a 10-horse field only ran 1⅛ miles instead of the traditional 1⅓, saw Tiz the Law break out as a potential Triple Crown winner with a win by 3¾ lengths. 

However, the field he will see on Saturday in Churchill Downs is a much different one than in New York. Only Max Player (third) and Sole Volante (sixth) will be joining the Belmont winner in Louisville. 

Instead, Tiz the Law will see a trio of challengers lurking in the form of Authentic and Honor A.P.

Honor A.P. enters the fray with a win in the Santa Anita Derby under his belt and the endurance to challenge down the stretch against a potentially unproven Tiz the Law on the longer track. He'll have veteran jockey Mike Smith guiding him through the field. 

The 55-year-old is a two-time Derby winner with Giacamo in 2005 and Justify in 2018 who went on to win the Triple Crown. 

Authentic presents an interesting case as well with Bob Baffert as his trainer. He is just one win away from tying the record for most Derby wins posted by a trainer with six. Authentic is his best shot in this year's race as he's won all of his starts except for the Santa Anita where he just finished second to Honor A.P. 

The question for Authentic appears to be one of endurance. He posed a speed figure of 109 in his graded stakes win at the Haskell Stakes on July 18 but was outrun by Honor A.P. down the stretch. 

When the post positions come out, it will be worth keeping an eye on how the odds shift. While Tiz the Law appears to be the most talented horse in the Derby, the large field at Churchill Downs could lead to unpredictable results.

The gate from which these horses break could have an important effect on who is expected to challenge the colt in his quest for history.