The field has officially been set for the 138th Kentucky Derby!  At Churchill Downs today, the post positions for the 20 Derby entrants (as well as one also-eligible runner) were drawn in front of their connections, who cringed or applauded at the various outcomes.  Post positions can be a huge factor in the success of horses in the Run For The Roses.  The full field, with morning-line odds, jockeys, and trainers follows:
1. Daddy Long Legs, 30-1, Colm O’Donoghue, Aiden O’Brien
2. Optimizer, 50-1, Jon Court, D. Wayne Lukas
3. Take Charge Indy, 15-1, Calvin Borel, Patrick Byrne
4. Union Rags, 9-2, Julien Leparoux, Michael Matz
5. Dullahan, 8-1, Kent Desormeaux, Dale Romans
6. Bodemeister, 4-1, Mike Smith, Bob Baffert
7. Rousing Sermon, 50-1, Jose Lezcano, Jerry Hollendorfer
8. Creative Cause, 12-1, Joel Rosario, Mike Harrington
9. Trinniberg, 50-1, Willie Martinez, Bisnath Parboo
10. Daddy Nose Best, 15-1, Garrett Gomez, Steve Asmussen
11. Alpha, 15-1, Rajiv Maragh, Kiaran McLaughlin
12. Prospective, 30-1, Luis Contreras, Mark Casse
13. Went The Day Well, 20-1, John Velasquez, Graham Motion
14. Hansen, 10-1, Ramon Dominguez, Mike Maker
15. Gemologist, 6-1, Javier Castellano, Todd Pletcher
16. El Padrino, 20-1, Rafael Bejarano, Todd Pletcher
17. Done Talking, 50-1, Sheldon Russell, Hamilton Smith
18. Sabercat, 30-1, Corey Nakatani, Steve Asmussen
19. I’ll Have Another, 12-1, Mario Guiterrez, Doug O’Neil
20. Liaison, 50-1, Martin Garcia, Bob Baffert
AE 21. My Adonis, Elvis Trujillo, Kelly Breen

So who drew the best and who drew the worst?  Typically, horses don’t want the 1 post or the 20 post, and this year long shots drew both of these holes.  The horse that perhaps drew the worst post personally is Alpha in post 11.  The son of Bernardini has been known to have gate issues in the past, and in the Derby, the first two horses to load are the #1 and the #11.  This means Alpha will have to stand in the gate for quite a while May 5 in front of the huge Churchill crowd as the rest of the field loads.  Despite all his schooling in the gate, the tension could shake him up a bit.

Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Bodemeister was installed as the 4-1 morning-line favorite.  He and jockey Mike Smith will have an interesting task ahead of them within seconds of breaking from the gate on Saturday.  Bodemeister is a front-runner, meaning he likes to be on or near the lead in races.  The other two speediest horses in the race, Trinniberg (post 9) and Hansen (post 14) are both to his outside, meaning Bodemeister may be expected to set the tempo from post 6.  Trainer Bob Baffert wasn’t particularly pleased with the spots his two runners drew, but knew he had to accept them.  Liaison is way out in post 20, while Bodemeister’s post 6 is somewhat disadvantageous when you realize the other frontrunners are drawn to his outside.  However, Baffert has won three Kentucky Derbies, and knows you need luck in the running of the race rather than the post position draw.  He even joked about the dreaded one hole and his recent heart attack, saying he’d prefer to get three stents in his heart than break from post 1 again (like he did in 2010 with the rather unlucky Lookin At Lucky, who had a horrible trip from the inside spot that year.)

Union Rags, the 2nd choice at 9-2, will try to put his Florida Derby (G1) loss last time out behind him as he breaks from post 4 with Julien Leparoux.  Although the big horse would have probably been better suited to a spot further out, post 4 should be just fine, particularly if he can settle in behind Bodemeister and the other speed horses.  Trainer Michael Matz was relatively upbeat and positive about his talented colt drawing the #4 spot, but did hint that he wished he had been a little farther away from the rail.

The connections of Hansen let out a yelp of excitement when Daddy Long Legs drew post 1.  This was because the final two available posts for the Derby were posts 14 and post 1.  Post 1 tends to be the most dreaded starting gate of all, so Hansen’s entourage didn’t want their Champion 2-Year-Old Male to have to break from the rail.  Post 14 is a great spot for the nearly white colt to start.  It is right where the gap is between the main gate and the auxiliary gate used for the Derby, meaning Hansen will have a little more room to maneuver around than the average Derby starter.  Plus, he drew outside the other two speed horses (Bodemeister and Trinniberg) so jockey Ramon Dominguez can place the fleet-footed colt wherever he wishes in the run into the first turn.

At 12-1, Creative Cause looks intriguing breaking from post 8, which has produced several Derby winners recently including Barbaro in 2006 and Mine That Bird in 2009.  The Santa Anita Derby (G1) runner-up is a little under the radar with all the other talented contenders in the field this year, but don’t forget that he finished 3rd to Hansen and Union Rags at Churchill Downs last fall in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1).  The three will renew this rivalry Saturday with, unbelievably, six other runners from last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile!  Besides the top three finishers, the horses that finished 4th (Dullahan), 5th (Take Charge Indy), 8th (Optimizer), 11th (Alpha), 12th (Daddy Long Legs), and 13th (Prospective) will all return to Churchill Downs to compete in the biggest race for 3-year-olds.  It’s almost as if this year’s Kentucky Derby is a rematch of last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, which is the top race for 2-year-old males.  It is amazing that so many of last year’s Breeders’ Cup runners have progressed into the rich and gifted Derby field of 2012.

Wood Memorial (G1) winner Gemologist drew a nice post in #15.  He will be on the other side of the gap between the main and auxiliary gates, meaning he and Hansen will both have extra space right after the break.  The only undefeated horse in the field this year, Gemologist will attempt to be the 2nd Kentucky Derby winner for trainer Todd Pletcher, who won the race in 2010 with Super Saver.  Pletcher had commented earlier in the day that he preferred an outside post for Gemologist but an inside one for El Padrino.  He got his wish with Gemologist in post 15, but El Padrino coming from post 16 isn’t quite what he had in mind.

Take Charge Indy, who upset the Grade 1 Florida Derby in his most recent start, will break one post inside of Union Rags.  When the two met last time, Union Rags left a discouraged 3rd while Take Charge Indy posed in the winner’s circle at Gulfstream.  Post 3 isn’t particularly a great spot to start from, but keep in mind jockey Calvin Borel will be aboard the son of A.P. Indy in the Run For The Roses.  Nicknamed Calvin “Bo-Rail” due to his love of running horses up the inside of the track, it was clear Take Charge Indy would make his way to the rail at some point during the race.  He is already fairly close to Calvin’s favorite spot, and “Bo-Rail” has been the winning rider in three Kentucky Derbies recently (in 2007 with Street Sense, 2009 with Mine That Bird, and 2010 with Super Saver.)

Speaking of Mine That Bird, who wore the roses over his shoulders after the 2009 edition of the Kentucky Derby, his half-brother Dullahan is looking to make winning the Derby a family tradition.  Jockey Kent Desormeaux, who won the Derby aboard Big Brown in 2008 as well as twice before, will hope to pilot his way back into the winner’s circle as they break from post 5.

I’ll Have Another, winner of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby in his most recent start, was assigned post 19.  His trainer, Doug O’Neil commented that it wasn’t the best spot but it was certainly better than the rail.  He will attempt to settle and save ground before the first turn.

Daddy Nose Best, who has been flying somewhat under the radar despite training very impressively at Churchill recently, drew post 10.  The Steve Asmussen trainee, who was set at 15-1 on the morning-line, will try not to get shuffled too far back in the big field.  The other runner from the Asmussen barn, Sabercat, will break from post 18.

The connections of Went The Day Well are hoping post 13 will prove to be a lucky number for them.  The owner, trainer, jockey combination of Team Valor International, Graham Motion, and John Velazquez won the Kentucky Derby last year with Animal Kingdom.  The last time the same connections won the Derby two years in a row was way back in 1972 and 1973 with Riva Ridge and Secretariat.

Now that the post positions have been drawn, who do you like?  Leave us a comment and let us know!