LEXINGTON, Ky. — One of the final pieces to fall into place prior to the Kentucky Derby is the post-position draw, which was held on Monday.
While each horse and each Derby is different, there is historical precedent for which post positions are better than others, dating back to the first use of a starting gate in 1930 (before the starting gate, horses were dispatched by the use of ropes, ribbon or wooden barriers).
Below is a comprehensive look at the results of horses from each Kentucky Derby post position since the starting gate was adopted in 1930.
Post-position results in the Kentucky Derby (since 1930)
— Post position No. 1: 8 wins, 5 seconds, 5 thirds from 92 starts.
Last winner? Ferdinand (1986).
Last top three? Lookin At Lee (second, 2017).
This year’s No. 1: Mo Donegal (10-1).
— Post position No. 2: 7 wins, 5 seconds, 13 thirds from 92 starts.
Last winner? Affirmed (1978).
Last top three? Revolutionary (third, 2013).
This year’s No. 2: Happy Jack (30-1)
— Post position No. 3: 5 wins, 6 seconds, 8 thirds from 92 starts.
Last winner? Real Quiet (1998).
Last top three? Golden Soul (second, 2013).
This year’s No. 3: Epicenter (7-2).
— Post position No. 4: 5 wins, 6 seconds, 4 thirds from 92 starts.
Last winner? Super Saver (2010).
Last top three? Danza (third, 2014).
This year’s No. 4: Summer Is Tomorrow (30-1)
— Post position No. 5: 10 wins, 8 seconds, 4 thirds from 92 starts.
Last winner? Always Dreaming (2017).
Last top three? Audible (third, 2018).
This year’s No. 5: Smile Happy (20-1).
— Post position No. 6: 2 wins, 8 seconds and 3 thirds from 92 starts.
Last winner? Sea Hero (1993).
Last top three? Good Magic (second, 2018).
This year’s No. 6: Messier (8-1).
— Post position No. 7: 8 wins, 6 seconds and 6 thirds from 91 starts.
Last winner? Mandaloun (2021).
Last top three? Mandaloun.
This year’s No. 7: Crown Pride (20-1).
— Post position No. 8: 8 wins, 5 seconds and 5 thirds from 91 starts.
Last winner? Mine That Bird (2009).
Last top three? Tacitus (third, 2019).
This year’s No. 8: Charge It (20-1).
— Post position No. 9: 4 wins, 6 seconds and 8 thirds from 88 starts.
Last winner? Riva Ridge (1972).
Last top three? Hot Rod Charlie (second, 2021).
This year’s No. 9: Tiz the Bomb (30-1).
— Post position No. 10: 9 wins, 6 seconds and 9 thirds from 85 starts.
Last winner? Giacomo (2005).
Last top three? Paddy O’Prado (third, 2010).
This year’s No. 10: Zandon (3-1).
— Post position No. 11: 2 wins, 6 seconds and 4 thirds from 81 starts.
Last winner? Winning Colors (1988).
Last top three? Code of Honor (second, 2019).
This year’s No. 11: Pioneer of Medina (30-1).
— Post position No. 12: 3 wins, 3 seconds and 3 thirds from 77 starts.
Last winner? Canonero II (1971).
Last top three? Afleet Alex (third, 2005).
This year’s No. 12: Taiba (12-1).
— Post position No. 13: 5 wins, 5 seconds and 7 thirds from 75 starts.
Last winner? Nyquist (2016).
Last top three? Nyquist.
This year’s No. 13: Simplification (20-1).
— Post position No. 14: 2 wins, 6 seconds and 6 thirds from 65 starts.
Last winner? Carry Back (1961).
Last top three? Essential Quality (third, 2021).
This year’s No. 14: Barber Road (30-1).
— Post position No. 15: 6 wins, 2 seconds and 1 third from 60 starts.
Last winner? Authentic (2020).
Last top three? Authentic.
This year’s No. 15: White Abarrio (10-1).
— Post position No. 16: 4 wins, 3 seconds and 3 thirds from 49 starts.
Last winner? Animal Kingdom (2011).
Last top three? Commanding Curve (second, 2014).
This year’s No. 16: Cyberknife (20-1).
— Post position No. 17: 0 wins, 1 second and 2 thirds from 42 starts.
Last winner? None.
Last top three? Forty Niner (second, 1988).
This year’s No. 17: Classic Causeway (30-1).
— Post position No. 18: 2 wins, 4 seconds and 0 thirds from 34 starts.
Last winner? Country House (2019).
Last top three? Country House.
This year’s No. 18: Tawny Port (30-1).
— Post position No. 19: 1 win, 1 second and 0 thirds from 29 starts.
Last winner? I’ll Have Another (2012).
Last top three? I’ll Have Another.
This year’s No. 19: Zosos (20-1).
— Post position No. 20: 1 win, 0 seconds and 1 third from 17 starts.
Last winner? Big Brown (2008).
Last top three? Big Brown.
This year’s No. 20: Ethereal Road (30-1).
— Notes: The Derby field now has a maximum of 20 horses, but there have been four combined starts from the No. 21, No. 22 and No. 23 post positions. None of those horses finished in the money.
Starting with the 2020 race, Churchill Downs switched to a custom-made 20-horse starting gate for the Kentucky Derby. The 65-foot gate replaced the practice of using two gates to accommodate all the Derby horses.
In the previous setup, Churchill Downs used a main gate for the first 14 horses and an auxiliary gate for the remaining horses.
The new gate eliminates a wide gap between post position No. 14 in the main gate and post position No. 15 in the auxiliary gate, and also helps eliminate the disadvantage that horses drawn near the rail were at.
What does this mean?
— The post position with the most Kentucky Derby winners since 1930 is post No. 5 with 10 winners. It’s the only post position with double-digit race winners since 1930.
With 10 winners from 92 starters, the win percentage from post No. 5 is 10.9%.
The No. 5 post for the 2022 Derby is held by Smile Happy, trained by Lexington’s Kenny McPeek, who had morning-line odds of 20-1.
— The post position with the most top three (in the money) finishes in the Kentucky Derby since 1930 is post No. 2 with 25 finishers in the money from 92 starters.
The No. 2 post for the 2022 Derby is held by Happy Jack, who had morning-line odds of 30-1.
— But, the post position with the highest percentage of top-three finishes in the Kentucky Derby since 1930 is post No. 10, which has had 24 horses finish in the money from 85 starters.
This means 28.2% of Kentucky Derby horses since 1930 who have started from post No. 10 have finished in the money.
The No. 10 post for the 2022 Derby is held by Zandon, the 3-1 morning-line favorite who impressed during his April win in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland by charging through the middle of the pack to win the race.
— The only post position to be used in the 2022 race without a past Derby winner is the No. 17 post, which will be occupied by 30-1 morning line long shot Classic Causeway.
