Kentucky Oaks 2014: Untapable a 4-5 favorite in Friday’s field of 13

The 140th Kentucky Derby runs Saturday at Churchill Downs, but the big event Friday in Louisville is the Kentucky Oaks, a 13-horse race that headlines Derby eve and has gained popularity in recent years despite being just as old as the Run for the Roses.

The race, run only by fillies over 1 1/8 miles at Churchill Downs, will post at about 5:45 p.m. ET Friday on NBC Sports Network, which starts coverage at 3 p.m. ET.

The race’s prohibitive favorite, Untapable, will make Oaks history if she were to win. Untapable drew the No. 13 post in Tuesday morning’s post draw, which is the furthest outside position in the field of 13. No horse has won the Oaks in the No. 13 position in the 13 Oaks fields with at least 13 horses since the race started using a starting gate in 1930. Only once since has a horse starting in the No. 13 gate finished in the money, according to Jennie Rees of the Louisville Courier-Journal — 2011’s second-place finisher, St. John’s River.

Untapable’s trainer is Steve Asmussen, the trainer of perhaps the most notable Oaks winner in recent years. Rachel Alexandra won the Oaks in 2009 by an amazing 20 1/4 lengths — easily an Oaks record — before becoming the first filly to win the Preakness Stakes since 1924. Rachel Alexandra was the 2009 Horse of the Year.

Untapable, whose odds were set at 4-5 on Tuesday, is heavily favored in the field of 13. Coming in next are Fashion Plate at 6-1, and My Miss Sophia and Rosalind both at 8-1.

Rosie Napravnik, who will mount Untapable on Friday, is the only female jockey to ride a winning filly in the Oaks. She won atop Believe You Can in 2012.