American Pharoah was made the morning-line favorite to win the 141st running of the Kentucky Derby upon drawing the No. 18 post Wednesday afternoon at Churchill Downs. Track handicapper Mike Battaglia installed American Pharoah at 5-to-2 odds.
While the outside post is not exactly ideal, it's far better than being on the rail and it figures to suit the colt's front-running running style nicely.
"Outside doesn't really bother me," trainer Bob Baffert said on NBC Sports Network's coverage of the Derby's post-position draw. "I just didn't want to be down stuck on the inside because it forces your hand. He's a fast horse, and basically in this race, with that many horses, you have to break well anyway."
American Pharoah is one of Baffert's two entries for Saturday's mile-and-a-quarter race, and this is a particularly promising year for the Hall of Fame trainer. Baffert also saddles Dortmund, the second favorite on the morning line at odds of 3-to-1.
Racing luck came early for Dortmund, who drew the No. 8 hole when the dreaded No.1 post was still open. There have been eight Derby winners to break from the No. 8 post in 82 starts since 1930.
"When he drew the eight I was happy," Baffert said of Dortmund. "He's a good gate horse, he breaks well. There's a lot of horses with the same style, so we're just gonna have to shake it out."
If Baffert was lucky during Wednesday's draw, the same cannot be said for Todd Pletcher.
Pletcher, a four-time Eclipse Award winner for trainer of the year, brings four horses to Saturday's Derby, and his top two hopefuls – Carpe Diem and Materiality – will start from the Nos. 2 and 3 holes, respectively.
"We'll need to get away cleanly and establish some position early, which you have to do from any post," Pletcher said of Carpe Diem. "(He's) a little further inside than would be ideal, but often times you get a good trip from a bad post and sometimes you get a bad trip (from a good post). Either way, it depends. Hopefully we get a clean break. …
"He's well prepared. He's been great at the gate, he's doing super, so we're happy with him."
While the field for this year's Derby is being called one of the most talented in years, the gap in odds from American Pharoah and Dortmund to Carpe Diem – the third favorite at 8-to-1 – is indicative of the expectations around Baffert's duo.
Here's a list of the morning-line odds for Saturday's race.
| Post | Horse | ML odds | Jockey | Trainer |
| 1 | Ocho Ocho Ocho | 50/1 | Trujillo | Cassidy |
| 2 | Carpe Diem | 8/1 | Velazquez | Pletcher |
| 3 | Materiality | 12/1 | Castellano | Pletcher |
| 4 | Tencendur | 30/1 | Franco | Weaver |
| 5 | Danzig Moon | 30/1 | Leparoux | Casse |
| 6 | Mubtaahij | 20/1 | Soumillon | de Kock |
| 7 | El Kabeir | 30/1 | Borel | Terranova |
| 8 | Dortmund | 3/1 | Garcia | Baffert |
| 9 | Bolo | 30/1 | Bejarano | Gaines |
| 10 | Firing Line | 12/1 | Stevens | Callahan |
| 11 | Stanford | 30/1 | Geroux | Pletcher |
| 12 | International Star | 20/1 | Mena | Maker |
| 13 | Itsaknockout | 30/1 | Saez | Pletcher |
| 14 | Keen ice | 50/1 | Desormeaux | Romans |
| 15 | Frosted | 15/1 | Rosario | McLaughlin |
| 16 | War Story | 50/1 | Talamo | Amoss |
| 17 | Mr. Z | 50/1 | Vazquez | Lukas |
| 18 | American Pharoah | 5/2 | Espinoza | Baffert |
| 19 | Upstart | 15/1 | Ortiz | Violette |
| 20 | Far Right | 30/1 | Smith | Moquett |
Win a seat at the SuperContest: Register for Satellite Series
