Whether you like to pick a horse by name, number, jockey, trainer, through an in-depth review of past performance or by a roll of the dice – now is the time to get serious and take a hard look at the line-up and make your picks!
Earlier today post positions and morning line odds were established for the 20 horse line-up and this information is pretty important. Horse racing post positions are 1-20 for this race with the #1 spot being “on the rail” or on the very inside and the #20 taking the far outside spot.
Post Positions
California Chrome, the favorite to win the Kentucky Derby at 5-2 odds, drew a decent position in the number 5 slot. He is expected to win this race and this position probably won’t hurt him although anything can happen.
The dreaded #1 inside position (a horse has not won the Derby from this post since 1986) goes to Vicar’s in Trouble at 30-1 odds. The far outside spots will be taken by a couple horses that have had some recent attention for their strong workout performance at the track – Ride on Curlin at #19 and Wicked Strong in the far outside #20 post position.
I’ve taken a wicked liking to Wicked Strong given the horse’s ties to the two places I have lived most of my life – upstate New York and Boston, MA. Wicked Strong (originally named Moyne Spun) was bred by Anne and Bill Lynn of Syracuse, NY and is part of their wonderful story which you can read more about here. Less than two years ago the couple sold their horse to a Boston group who renamed him Wicked Strong as a tribute to those injured and killed in the bombing at last year’s Boston Marathon. In addition to these home town connections, I watched this stellar horse win the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct by 3 1/2 lengths earlier this month – this horse is ready to roll and can really run! Not sure how this less-than-favorable post position will play out for him (only one horse has ever won from this spot) but may still put some of my money on him in an exotic bet. Go Boston Strong!
Morning Line Odds
There are not a lot of favored horses in this big race which means that any one of them has a good chance to win and that the odds are favorable for placing some good pay-out bets. Other than California Chrome at 5-2 odds, the only other horses that the handicapping experts have deemed worthy of below 10-1 odds are Hoppertunity at 6-1 and Wicked Strong at 8-1. Of course all of this will change as soon as the betting begins and it will be interesting to see how this field of horses plays out.
My favorite jockey, Mike Smith (of his own and Zenyatta fame) will be jockeying Hoppertunity in this race. Mike is a Hall of Fame, fantastic jockey and I always bet him to win (regardless of horse) as he more often than not wins his race regardless of odds. In the #11 post position, his horse is perfectly placed close to the center to take off, break ahead of the pack and win the Derby.
20 fantastic horses in this race! Check out Equibase for more information on horses, jockeys and trainers past performances.
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