Attention! Kentucky Derby 2018 Post Positions Set for the Triple Crown’s Greatest Race
It’s the time of the year for the “fastest two minutes in sports.” And now we know the post positions at Churchill Downs.
The 2018 Kentucky Derby
On May 5, everyone will be holding their breaths for what seems like too many heartbeats before that instant when it all goes wild.
The jockeys and all entries already know their post positions and are ready for when the gate opens and bets are closed.
Always Dreaming, last year’s Derby winner, started from the fifth position. This year, Audible starts from that spot.
Here are the all the post positions for The Run For the Roses.
Kentucky Derby Post Positions
- Firenze Fire
- Free Drop Billy
- Promises Fulfilled
- Flameaway
- Audible
- Good Magic
- Justify
- Lone Sailor
- Hofburg
- My Boy Jack
- Bolt d’Oro
- Enticed
- Bravazo
- Mendelssohn
- Instilled Regard
- Magnum Moon
- Solomini
- Vino Rosso
- Noble Indy
- Combatant
Alternate: Blended Citizen
Do The Kentucky Derby Post Positions Make A Difference?
Until the horse crosses the finish, you don’t really know who’s won. It’s any jockey’s race until then.
But, a horse’s starting post is always on everyone’s minds with certain spots more favored over others.
Why?
Because in any track there’s always a shortest distance to the finish line. It’s the one closest to the rail.
It’s the one that every jockey is vying for. And where they’ll point their horses to go.
It’s also the jockey’s knowledge of how the horse runs that determines how the race goes.
But, there are also favorites. The fifth post is among the preferred by jockeys.
California Chrome is one recent big-name winner starting from that spot.
There are also those that seem to be the unluckiest of all like Gate 17 from which no horse has ever won in 143 years of racing.
Three gates have one turned out one win each. While from Gate 14 was the starting point of last year’s favorite that didn’t win.
Kentucky Derby 2018 Horses
Justify and Magnum Moon, are this year’s favorites even if they’re horses that weren’t raced as two-year-olds.
Why would that make a difference? Because of Apollo’s Curse.
A horse that wasn’t raced as a two-year-old hasn’t won a Derby since Apollo back in 1882. That’s a long time.
Even so, Justify won the Santa Anita Derby while Magnum Moon won the Arkansas Derby so they might break the curse.
Mendelssohn has a 4-1-0 record in seven starts. Though only one of those races has been on dirt, he handled the surface pretty well.
Mendelssohn has also won three consecutive races heading into the Derby.
Justify has won all three of his races. The Santa Anita Derby was the latest.
#Justify remains undefeated as he repels Bolt d'Oro's challenge to win the Grade 1 #SantaAnitaDerby at @santaanitapark for Bob Baffert and Mike Smith! More on https://t.co/vCZgVVRYIS pic.twitter.com/8USQ7O5YpK
— XBTV (@WatchXBTV) April 7, 2018
Horses that have won at Santa Anita have usually done well at Churchill Downs. And this horse has plenty of eyes on him as a runner with a ton of speed.
In a race where speed makes the difference, it’s important for a horse to lead down the final stretch.
Check out the Kentucky Derby odds
