Favorite Lookin At Lucky Draws Inside Post Position for for Kentucky Derby

Lookin At Lucky, trained by Bob Baffert, drew the No. 1 post position and favored early morning- line odds of 3-1 for the 136th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

Sidney’s Candy, handicapper Mike Battaglia’s second choice at 5-1, will run from the far outside position in the field of 20 horses in Louisville, Kentucky, for the 1¼-mile race on May 1.

The last competitor to win the opening event of thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown from the inside position was Ferdinand in 1986.

“When you get a lemon, you make lemonade,” said Lookin At Lucky’s owner Mike Pegram. “We’re making lemonade in the winner’s circle.”

Ice Box, running from the second post; Devil May Care, the only filly, going off from the 11th; and Awesome Act, getting the 16th position, were co-third favorites at 10-1.

Four horses, Dean’s Kitten (8), Make Music for Me (9), Backtalk (18) and Homeboykris (19), were the longest shots at 50-1, according to Battaglia.

Battaglia kept Lookin At Lucky, ridden by Garrett Gomez and trained by Bob Baffert, as the morning-line favorite despite the horse’s post position.

First Two

“Lookin At Lucky’s got to be the favorite,” Battaglia said in a televised interview. “Garrett Gomez is going to have to negotiate a good trip. Good post? No. Kiss of death? No. The top two were pretty easy to pick. It gets pretty tricky after that.”

Baffert, who won Derbys with Silver Charm in 1997, Real Quiet in 1998 and War Emblem in 2002, said Gomez likes to be inside.

“He’s stuck with it now,” Baffert said during a post-draw press conference. “I don’t even know what number I would have wanted for the horse. The rest is up to racing luck.”

Eskendereya, owned by Ahmed Zayat and the winner of the Wood Memorial who was expected to be the favorite in the Derby, was pulled from the race because of an injury. That made room for Devil May Care, who will be trying to become the fourth filly to win the race and the first since Winning Colors in 1988.

Endorsement sustained a fractured leg during his morning workout today and Interactif was withdrawn by trainer Todd Pletcher, making room for Backtalk and Make Music for Me. The top 20 stakes earners can enter the Derby field.

Pletcher, who has four entries in this year’s race, is 0-24 with his horses in the Derby.

If all horses run, the winner of the Derby will earn just over $1.4 million. The Derby costs $25,000 to enter and another $25,000 to start.

Post Horse             Jockey            Trainer       Odds
1    Lookin At Lucky   Garrett Gomez     Bob Baffert     3-1
2    Ice Box           Jose Lezcano      Nick Zito      10-1
3    Noble’s Promise   Willie Martinez   Kenny McPeek   12-1
4    Super Saver       Calvin Borel      Todd Pletcher  15-1
5    Line of David     Rafael Bejarano   John Sadler    30-1
6    Stately Victor    Alan Garcia       Michael Maker  30-1
7    American Lion     David Flores      Eoin Harty     30-1
8    Dean’s Kitten     Robby Albarado    Michael Maker  50-1
9    Make Music for Me Joel Rosario      Alexis Barba   50-1
10   Paddy O’Prado     Kent Desormeaux   Dale Romans    20-1
11   Devil May Care    John Velazquez    Todd Pletcher  10-1
12   Conveyance        Martin Garcia     Bob Baffert    12-1
13   Jackson Bend      Mike Smith        Nick Zito      15-1
14   Mission Impazible Rajiv Maragh      Todd Pletcher  20-1
15   Discreetly Mine   Javier Castellano Todd Pletcher  30-1
16   Awesome Act       Julien Leparoux   Jeremy Noseda  10-1
17   Dublin            Terry Thompson    D. Wayne Lukas 12-1
18   Backtalk          Miguel Mena       Tom Amoss      50-1
19   Homeboykris       Ramon Dominguez   Richard Dutrow 50-1
20   Sidney’s Candy    Joe Talamo        John Sadler     5-1

To contact the reporter on this story: Nancy Kercheval in Washington at nkercheval@bloomberg.net