2025 Kentucky Derby post position draw with LIVE handicapping commentary
Churchill Downs (Photo by TwinSpires.com / Credit to Jessica Piatt)
Updated:
The time has arrived! Tonight at Churchill Downs we will find out the post positions for the 151st Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky Oaks. Join our expert panel—Vance Hanson, Kellie Reilly, James Scully, Jason Beem, Keeler Johnson, and Jennifer Kelley—as they comment on the contenders post positions prior, after, and during the draw, and so much more!
Join in on the conversation and let us know your picks and opinions before and after the draw! It's sure to be an exciting night all about these contenders as we bring up-to-date coverage from Churchill Downs.
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Welcome to the Kentucky Derby and Oaks Post Position Draw LIVE coverage
Thank you to everyone that joined us today, and a special thanks to our expert panel for all their analysis and handicapping insights. We are less than one week out from Derby! It's bound to be an exciting race with so much speed in the middle and some fantastic contenders!
Don't forget to join us for Thurby, Oaks, and Derby and join in on the fun! Thank you to everyone, again, and have a great night!
The Derby week is here and we are ready! Come join us for LIVE up-to-date coverage of Thurby, Kentucky Oaks Day and, of course, the 151st Kentucky Derby! We will have expert picks, LIVE odds, race entries, replays, bet shares, tournament updates, and more!
Join us this week so you don't miss a minute of the action with our all-access coverage!
The Kentucky Derby news and notes offers all of our coverage cultivated in one place! This resource is for those who want to bookmark and stay up to date with all the relevant information Kentucky Derby fans and horse-players would want to know from our leading experts.
Our sister sites, Brisnet.com and KentuckyDerby.com also have similar editor-curated content-aggregate posts to streamline our users’ hunt for the latest key information on the Fastest Five Minutes In Sports.
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Wood Memorial (G2) winner Rodriguez drew post 4 in the Kentucky Derby. Since he's done his best work on the lead, he'll have to break sharply if he wants to vie for early supremacy. Any hesitation at the start could leave Rodriguez buried in traffic during the early stages of the race.
However... if Rodriguez does break sharply, he'll have a clear path to securing the early lead and the inside. Could he emulate other recent Bob Baffert trainees like Authentic (2020) and Medina Spirit (2021), who led from start to finish in the Kentucky Derby? Medina Spirit was later disqualified, but remained the winner for betting purposes. Assuming a clean start, I believe post 4 can work out well for Rodriguez.
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Now that the morning-line odds for the Kentucky Derby are out, which horses are you most excited to bet at their projected prices?
I'm happy with the 3-1 odds on Journalism. I would have been happy to play him at 5-2, and that was before the defection of Florida Derby winner Tappan Street.
Otherwise, I'm intrigued by Rodriguez at 12-1, Luxor Cafe at 15-1, and Final Gambit at 30-1. I believe those are all fair odds if they hold up.
I really think Sandman is going to be one of the horses who takes more money than he should because of his name, his story, and the fact he's got famous influencer connections. Then he of course draws the infamous Post 17 where nobody has ever won from.
Maybe that will cancel out some of the extra money that was going to come his way? I don't think so, I maintain he'll be an underlay in this race on the betting board.
Final Gambit, who unleashed a blazing fast finish to win the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3), drew Post 3 in the Kentucky Derby. Since Final Gambit is a deep closer, drawing toward the inside shouldn't be an issue—he can drop back to his customary position without wasting any time shifting to the inside from an outside post.
The one concern for Final Gambit is the fact he's never run on dirt. He's bound to encounter dirt kickback while breaking from post 3, and if he reacts poorly to the experience, he may wind up dropping back even farther off the pace than usual.
Take advantage of TwinSpries Kentucky Derby Betting Calculator to better understand your bet before placing it. It's quick easy and accurate!
Kentucky Derby Post Positions
| Post | Horse | Odds | Post | Horse | Odds |
| 1 | Citizen Bull | 20-1 | 11 | Flying Mohawk | 30-1 |
| 2 | Neoequos | 30-1 | 12 | East Avenue | 20-1 |
| 3 | Final Gambit | 30-1 | 13 | Publisher | 20-1 |
| 4 | Rodriguez | 12-1 | 14 | Tiztastic | 20-1 |
| 5 | American Promise | 30-1 | 15 | Render Judgment | 30-1 |
| 6 | Admire Daytona | 30-1 | 16 | Coal Battle | 30-1 |
| 7 | Luxor Cafe | 15-1 | 17 | Sandman | 6-1 |
| 8 | Journalism | 3-1 | 18 | Sovereignty | 5-1 |
| 9 | Burnham Square | 12-1 | 19 | Chunk of Gold | 30-1 |
| 10 | Grande | 20-1 | 20 | Owen Almighty | 30-1 |
Kentucky Oaks Post Positions
| Post | Horse | Odds | Post | Horse | Odds |
| 1 | Early On | 30-1 | 8 | Five G | 12-1 |
| 2 | Simply Joking | 10-1 | 9 | Tenma | 12-1 |
| 3 | Fondly | 30-1 | 10 | Take Charge Milady | 12-1 |
| 4 | Drexel Hill | 30-1 | 11 | Good Cheer | 6-5 |
| 5 | Quickick | 30-1 | 12 | Anna's Promise | 30-1 |
| 6 | Ballerina d'Oro | 10-1 | 13 | Bless the Broken | 30-1 |
| 7 | La Cara | 6-1 | 14 | Quietside | 8-1 |
Churchill Downs (Photo by Coady Media)
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