POST POSITIONS ARE IN! 2020 KENTUCKY DERBY + ODDS

We now have the post positions for the 2020 edition of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve. There will be 18 horses taking part in one of the premier events in horse racing, delayed since May 2 thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. There will be no fans in the stands, thanks to ongoing concerns about social distancing and possible community spread, but the Triple Crown will be one leg closer to finishing.

Let’s take a look at the field and consider how post position might play a role, and check out the latest odds to win for the 2020 KD, courtesy of JAZZSports.ag.

Kentucky Derby Update: The Post Positions Are In

Tiz the Law drew -167 odds as the favorite in the morning line after drawing post 17. Those are the lowest odds for any early choice since 1989. There will be three top contenders coming from the outside, as Authentic (+800) will sit in slot 18, on the very outside. Honor A.P., who won the Runhappy Santa Anita Derby (Grade I) on June 6, drew post 16 and had initial odds at +500 after the post placements.

The presence of drama right before and after the draw is nothing new for the Kentucky Derby. A year ago, Omaha Beach scratched from Churchill Downs one day after the draw had taken place. This year, Art Collector scratched on the morning of the draw.

Scratch time for the race will be 9:00 am ET on Friday, September 4, and the race’s post time is 7:02 pm ET on Saturday, November 5. You can catch coverage from NBC all afternoon on Saturday, running from 2:30 pm ET to 7:30 pm.

Churchill  Downs installed a new starting gate with 20 places. With only 18 horses set to go, there will be no horses in slots 1 or 20. So drawing position 17, for example, puts Tiz the Law in gate 18. That could help from the perspective of the jinx; after all, no horse has come from position 17 to win in any of the previous 145 editions of the Kentucky Derby. The 17^th position used to be significantly further outside with the previous gate.

Tiz the Law won the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (Grade I) easily and also won the Curlin Florida Derby (Grade I). It is trainer Barclay Tagg’s second Kentucky Derby; in 2003, he trained Funny Cide, who won at Churchill Downs and then at the Preakness Stakes (Grade I), completing two legs of the Triple Crown. In 2003, Funny Cide drew position 5.

Finnick the Fierce drew position 1 (so he will be running out of gate 2). He came in third in the second division of the Arkansas Derby (Grade I) back in May, with a 2-1-2 record in nine career starts. In his best races, he has come from off the pace, which could work well for him. Ny Traffic drew the 15^th post position, which will allow him to chase the lead from the outside as well.

Check the full list of positions below:

2020 KENTUCKY DERBY – ODDS TO WIN *

Rush to JAZZSports.ag to lock your bets in, and keep coming back to JAZZ Horse Racing for the latest news and betting previews, written by the top racing pundits.

*Odds are subject to change.