Kentucky Derby 2020 Contenders: Favorites, Lineup Odds After Post Positions Draw

The strangeness in the 2020 sports world isn't confined only to the major leagues. 

Historically run on the first Saturday in May, this year's Kentucky Derby was moved from May 2 to Sept. 5 because of the continued spread of COVID-19. 

Though the Derby has been once postponed before, in 1945, canceling it outright would have been historic. Since its inception in 1875, the Run for the Roses has been consecutively run for 146 years.

The consideration for continuing to hold the race this year, however, is that no fans will be in attendance. The show-stopping hats and mint juleps will have to wait until next year (or possibly later). 

The derby will be broadcast on NBC Sports and live-streamed on the NBC Sports app starting at 2:30 p.m. ET. Post time for the race will be approximately 7:01 p.m. ET. 

After Tuesday morning's post position draw, we have a much better sense of which horses will be heading into favorable circumstances in "the most exciting two minutes in sports." Let's take a look at the results of the draw and break down the most recent odds. 

Post Positions, Odds and Favorites

No. 1. Finnick The Fierce 50-1

No. 2. Max Player 30-1

No. 3. Enforceable 30-1

No. 4. Storm The Court 50-1

No. 5. Major Fed 50-1

No. 6. King Guillermo 20-1

No. 7. Money Moves 30-1

No. 8. South Bend 50-1

No. 9. Mr. Big News 50-1

No. 10. Thousand Words 15-1

No. 11. Necker Island 50-1

No. 12. Sole Volante 30-1

No. 13. Attachment Rate 50-1

No. 14. Winning Impression 50-1

No. 15. Ny Traffic 20-1

No. 16. Honor A. P. 5-1

No. 17. Tiz The Law 3-5

No. 18. Authentic 8-1

Odds via Vegas Insider and current as of Sept. 1

With 372 points, Tiz the Law leads the the standings and is thus the odds-on favorite. The Barclay Tagg-trained and Sackatoga Stable-owned colt won the Belmont Stakes, Travers Stakes and Florida Derby. The same team produced 2003 Kentucky Derby winner Funny Cide.

However, Tiz the Law's only career loss came at...none other than Churchill Downs. 

The horse expected to mount the biggest challenge to Tiz the Law was Art Collector, and there were expected to be 19 post positions drawn Tuesday. However, Art Collector dropped out of the race Tuesday morning because of a "minor foot ailment," according to DRF, and the race will now have 18 runners. 

Now, Honor A. P. and Authentic are the other horses to watch. 

If Honor A. P., who won the Santa Anita Derby, wins the Derby, it would make Mike Smith the oldest jockey to do so at 55, per NBC Sports. 

Meanwhile, Authentic has Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert and Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez in his corner. 

It's interesting to note that Tiz the Law's post position, No. 17, hasn't produced a single Derby winner since 1930, according to Sporting News. It's the only post position for which that is the case. 

Historically, the No. 5 post position has been the most successful since the starting gate was implemented in the Derby in 1930 with 10 winners, including, most recently, Always Dreaming in 2017. The next most favorable is post position No. 10, which has had nine winners. 

However, because there are so many horses in the Kentucky Derby, post positions aren't as tied to overall chance to win as in smaller races.