The connections of all 20 horses in the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby know what they want: That Derby trophy come Saturday night.
They also know what they don’t want: The No. 1 post position.
Poor Todd Pletcher got it.
“I started weeping openly,” is how the two-time Kentucky Derby trainer described his emotions when, three pulled pills from the end of the Tuesday’s post-position draw, his Florida Derby winner Known Agenda drew the inside post for the 6:57 p.m. race at Churchill Downs.
Blue Grass Stakes winner Essential Quality was made the 2-1 morning-line favorite for Saturday. He’ll start from post position No. 14. Santa Anita Derby winner Rock Your World, who will be positioned one spot outside the leader in post 15, is 5-1. Stuck down on the rail, with 19 colts to his right, Known Agenda is at 6-1.
“It’s not the one we wanted,” Pletcher said of the post, “but we’ve got a good jockey (Irad Ortiz Jr.) and hopefully he can make the right moves. We’ll just try to focus on the things we can control and hope it works out.”
The last Kentucky Derby winner to start from the No. 1 hole was Ferdinand in 1986. Since then, however, a 20-horse Derby field is a near regular occurrence. And with 19 horses heading for the rail, or as close as they can get to it after the starting gates open, the unlucky colt on the inside often has little room to run.
So as the dreaded spot was sitting open as number after number was assigned to colt after colt inside the Aristides Lounge on Tuesday, the connections of the three still-available entries, including the favorite, were surely breaking into a cold sweat.
“Oh yeah, absolutely,” said Brad Cox, trainer of Essential Quality. “I felt like I’ve handled everything to this point very well, but that was totally out of my hands. Once we got down to three spots available and Essential Quality was still on the board, I was definitely nervous.”
And when the favorite drew No. 14?
“Really pleased,” said Jimmy Bell, president of Godolphin USA, owner of Essential Quality. “All’s well that ends well.”
There is a line of thinking, however, that the No. 1 hole may not be the death sentence it was previously. Last year, Churchill replaced its split gate — 14 horses in the main gate, six in the auxiliary gate — with a 20-horse gate
“It helps the 1,” Pletcher said, “because you get to move the gate out a little bit and get a little more space. It’s less of a disadvantage now than it was prior to the new gate.”
Max Player drew the No. 1 post last September for Kentucky Derby 146. He finished fifth.
“The shorter starting gate, with the auxiliary gate not being in use anymore, that’s a positive,” Cox said. “But you want to be out there where you can kind of break and get a little bit cleaner run.”
If Essential Quality gets a clean run Saturday?
“If we get the trip, we’re going to be really tough,” Cox said. “That’s how confident I am.”
Challengers exist. Louisiana Derby winner Hot Rod Charlie is 8-1 in the No. 9 post position. Blue Grass runner-up Highly Motivated is 10-1 in No. 17. And Bob Baffert’s Medina Spirit, who drew post 8, is 15-1. Baffert has won the Kentucky Derby six times, including last year with Authentic.
On the flip side, post position No. 5 has produced the highest percentage of Kentucky Derby winners at 11 percent. At 50-1 in the morning line, Sainthood drew the No. 5 position. He’s one of four Pletcher colts in the field, along with Known Agenda, Dynamic One (20-1 in the No. 11 post) and Bourbonic (30-1 in No. 20).
“I think it’s an open race,” said Pletcher, who won the roses in 2010 with Super Saver and 2017 with Always Dreaming. “I think there’s a number of horses here who are training very well.”
So Pletcher doesn’t fear Essential Quality?
“I fear all of them,” he said.
Kentucky Derby
When: 6:57 p.m. Saturday
Where: Churchill Downs
TV: NBC-18
Purse: $3 million
Distance: 1 1/4 miles
For: 3-year-old Thoroughbreds
The field, with odds:
1. Known Agenda (6-1)
2. Like the King (50-1)
3. Brooklyn Strong (50-1)
4. Keepmeinmind (50-1)
5. Sainthood (50-1)
6. O Kisses (20-1)
7. Mandaloun (15-1)
8. Medina Spirit (15-1)
9. Hot Rod Charlie (8-1)
10. Midnight Bourbon (20-1)
11. Dynamic One (20-1)
12. Helium (50-1)
13. Hidden Stash (50-1)
14. Essential Quality (2-1)
15. Rock Your World (5-1)
16. King Fury (20-1)
17. Highly Motivated (10-1)
18. Super Stock (30-1)
19. Soup and Sandwich (30-1)
20. Bourbonic (30-1)