Kentucky Derby 2017 - Post Positions, Favorite Horses, Trainers & Jockeys

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2017 Kentucky Derby Post Positions

This first race in the coveted Triple Crown of horse racing attracts plenty of attention. Since 2005 -- when the purse went from one million to two million dollars -- the "Run For The Roses" has offered the biggest prize of all the Stakes races.

The May 6th running of the 2017 Kentucky Derby will be the 143rd time that the race has been held since the first derby horses raced down the track in Louisville in 1875.

This year's lineup was announced at 5PM ET on Wednesday, May 3, 2017 from Churchill Downs.

Just up ahead, check out the complete list including the official post positions, jockeys and morning line odds given to top favorites.

2017 Kentucky Derby post positions

Horse & Post Position	Jockey	ML Odds
1. Lookin At Lee	Corey Lanerie	20-1
2. Thunder Snow	Christophe Soumillion	20-1
3. Fast and Accurate	Channing Hill	50-1
4. Untrapped	Ricardo Santana	30-1
5. Always Dreaming	John Velazquez	5-1
6. State of Honor	Jose Lezcano	30-1
7. Girvin	Mike Smith	15-1
8. Hence	Florent Geroux	15-1
9. Irap	Mario Gutierrez	20-1
10. Gunnevera	Javier Castellano	15-1
11. Battle of Midway	Flavien Prat	30-1
12. Sonneteer	Kent Desormeaux	50-1
13. J Boys Echo	Luis Saez	20-1
14. Classic Empire	Julien Leparoux	4-1
15. McCraken	Brian Hernandez	5-1
16. Tapwrit	Jose Ortiz	20-1
17. Irish War Cry	Rajiv Maragh	6-1
18. Gormley	Victor Espinoza	15-1
19. Practical Joke	Joel Rosario	20-1
20. Patch	Tyler Gaffalione	30-1

Picking a Derby winner

To choose the winner you need to know the pedigree of the horse and his past history in the Stakes races. How the horse handles various track conditions can mean the difference between a win or an also-ran.

Who trains and rides the colt is another fact that handicappers look at. Pros can also look back on patterns of past Kentucky Derby winners and use that knowledge to predict the outcome.

Since 2000, only three of the horses who were favorites at the start of the Kentucky Derby finished in the money. In 2000 Fusaichi Pegasus won and in 2004 Smarty Jones won. Empire Maker placed in 2003. Harlan's Holiday (2002), Bellamy Road (2005) and Sweetnorthernsaint (2006) all heavy favorites finished seventh.

The sweetheart of the odds makers in 2001, Point Given, ended his race in fifth place. In spite of all of the best guesses from odds makers, the final verdict can only be decided by the horse and rider when the winner crosses the finish line.

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