Derby favorite Forte draws post 15, Oaks posts set
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Road to the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks started months ago, and the end of the road is near as Churchill Downs held post position draws on Monday.
What You Need To Know
- Churchill Downs held post position draws for the 2023 Oaks and Derby on Monday
- Twenty colts and 14 fillies are running in the prestigious races this weekend
- The Oaks' morning line favorite at 5-2, Wet Paint, drew post position 7
- The Kentucky Derby's morning line favorite at 3-1, Forte, drew post position 15
Since 1974, Mike Battaglia has set the morning line odds at Churchill Downs and the tradition continued Monday afternoon.
Todd Pletcher’s Forte and Brad Cox’s filly Wet Paint are the morning line favorites for the 149th running of the Kentucky Derby and Oaks.
Forte will break from the 15 post at 3-1 odds on Saturday, May 6. He has won six of seven starts, including the Florida Derby last month. Forte beat Mage, who will start from the No. 8 post at 15-1 odds.
The second choice for the Derby is Forte’s stablemate, Tapit Trice, at 5-1 odds breaking from the No. 5 post. Angel of Empire, a Cox horse, is third at 8-1 from the No. 14 post.
It's worth noting that no one has ever won from spot 17, and it hasn't been in top 3 since 1988. It's often dubbed the "unluckiest" post.
Strangely, post 20 has the highest win percentage at 11.1%. You wouldn't think the far outside would be that successful, but that is based on limited starts—only 18 horses have ever started from that post.
Post 5 has the best average finish over the history of the race (7.33), and 10 shows up in the money the most.
The 20-horse gate that debuted a few years ago took away a major advantage for 14 and 15. there used to be two gates with a gap between 14 and 15 and it gave each of those horse more room at the start. but that is no longer a factor.
Twenty colts had their names called Monday afternoon in the post position draw. Here's a look at the initial positions for the 149th running of the Kentucky Derby.
For Friday’s $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks, Wet Paint will come from the No. 7 post at 5-2 odds. She is one of three fillies trained by Louisville’s own Cox. She has won all three starts this year.
Her stablemate Botanical is the second choice at 4-1 from the No.6 post. Norm Casse’s Southlawn from the No. 4 post is the third choice at 8-1.
Fourteen fillies also had their name called in the Kentucky Oaks post position draws. Here's where each horse landed:
Fillies will run in the Longines Kentucky Oaks on Friday, May 5, and the colts will run in the 149th Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 6.
Post time for the Derby is 6:57 p.m. ET on Saturday. The Oaks goes off Friday at 5:51 p.m. ET.
