Always Dreaming, Classic Empire, Irish War Cry, and 17 other horses will be slotted into their gates for the 2017 Kentucky Derby during a live draw beginning at 11 a.m. Wednesday. It’s not televised so you can follow along via Facebook or Twitter.
Kentucky Derby 2017 post positions: Classic Empire, Always Dreaming learn starting spots
Classic Empire was set as the morning line favorite at 4-1.
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Kentucky Derby draw announced
The field of 20 is set, with race favorites Always Dreaming and Classic Empire starting a bit separated from each other. Always Dreaming, trained by Todd Pletcher and jockeyed by John Velazquez, drew the fifth spot, while Classic Empire, trained by Mark Casse and ridden by Julien Leparoux, will start from the 14th spot.
Irish War Cry, trained by Graham Motion, will start from No. 17, and McCraken, trained by Ian Wilkes, will start at No. 15.
Always Dreaming and Classic Empire were the unofficial favorites entering the day. Depending when and where you look, the two are pretty much co-favorites. Our friends at OddsShark gave a slight favorite to the Florida Derby winner, Always Dreaming, at +400 as of Tuesday.
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A quick primer on betting terms, types of wagers, and where you can (legally!) put some money down to make the Kentucky Derby a little more interesting.
However Classic Empire, winner of the Arkansas Derby, was just behind at +425. Had he remained healthy, Classic Empire may have been a stronger favorite. But battling injuries coupled with a poor start to the 2017 season before Arkansas cut into some of the hype.
At +650, Irish War Cry and McCracken round out the top four. Irish War Cry has won four of his five career races, including two out of three this year. However, all three of his races this year have come in Grade II stakes. McCracken has won four of his five races as well, the lone loss coming to Irap at the Grade II Blue Grass Stakes.
As always, the inside of the track at Churchill Downs remains an unfavorable draw, as trainers and jockeys are hoping for something more in the middle of the pack when the gates open.
Kentucky Derby morning line odds announced
Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia set the numbers shortly after the post positions were known. So officially, the Kentucky Derby race favorite is Classic Empire at 4-1. Behind him, Always Dreaming and McCraken were both assigned 5-1 odds. The only other contender in single digits is Irish War Cry at 6-1.
Live video of the Kentucky Derby draw
Post | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Morning line odds |
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