{"id":211540,"date":"2022-05-01T20:08:58","date_gmt":"2022-05-02T03:08:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=211540"},"modified":"2022-05-02T12:21:55","modified_gmt":"2022-05-02T19:21:55","slug":"kentucky-derby-field-comes-into-focus-ahead-of-mondays-post-position-draw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kentucky-derby-field-comes-into-focus-ahead-of-mondays-post-position-draw\/","title":{"rendered":"Kentucky Derby Field Comes Into Focus Ahead of Monday’s Post Position Draw"},"content":{"rendered":"

With less than a week before the Kentucky Derby, the field for the 148th running of the classic race is almost set.<\/p>\n

\"Cyberknife\"<\/a>
Arkansas Derby winner Cyberknife gallops on the track at Churchill Downs last week. Cyberknife is one of the likely entries for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, which will hold its post position draw on Monday afternoon. (Image: Churchill Downs\/Coady Photography)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Sunday, Early Voting\u2019s owner notified Churchill Downs the Wood Memorial runner-up would not run in next Saturday\u2019s race. That opened up a spot for Pioneer of Medina, who was next in line, according to the Kentucky Derby<\/a> points system.<\/p>\n

\n

Post positions for the race will be drawn Monday afternoon. With 20 horses in the field, the draw will likely play a big role in how bettors wager on the race. If a popular horse, like Epicenter or Messier, pulls an outside gate or the first along the rail, it could cool interest in those horses.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Initial odds will be posted after the draw, with pari-mutuel wagering starting Friday on the 1-1\/4-mile race.<\/p>\n

Fixed-odds futures wagering is available at some Nevada sportsbooks, including Circa Sports and Baldini\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Likely Derby Favorite Holds Final Workout<\/h2>\n

Epicenter<\/a>, who is coming off a record-setting win in the Louisiana Derby, trained on the Churchill Downs track Sunday morning, completing five furlongs in 1:01 over a muddy track.<\/p>\n

It was his final scheduled workout before the Derby, and it was delayed by nearly two hours because of overnight rains. Trainer Steve Asmussen, who seeks his first Kentucky Derby win, said he was a little concerned about the weather. But he has full confidence in his horse.<\/p>\n

\n

I am unbelievably excited to be doing this well with this much on the line,\u201d<\/strong> he said. \u201cI had a pretty anxious drive last night with rain and thunderstorms for most of it, and if it’s meant to be then it’s meant to be, but everything seems to be working out perfectly.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

At Circa Sports, Epicenter is the +495 favorite (odds current as of Sunday afternoon ET). But the Las Vegas-based sportsbook only considers him a slight favorite over Blue Grass Stakes winner Zandon (+565), Santa Anita runner-up Messier (+590), and Santa Anita winner Taiba (+635).<\/p>\n

Baldini\u2019s currently lists Epicenter, Taiba, and Zandon at +600. Messier is the fourth choice for the Sparks-based sportsbook at +800.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Cyberknife Could Help Cox Repeat<\/h2>\n

One horse that has grabbed more attention through his workouts has been Cyberknife. The Arkansas Derby winner didn\u2019t get the same buzz that Epicenter, Taiba, and Zandon did after winning their major prep races. But the Brad Cox-trained colt has put up some sharp training times in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

Two weeks ago, he covered five furlongs in a minute. Last week, he covered six furlongs in 1:12.2, and in another six-furlong training session Saturday, which Churchill Downs captured on video, Cyberknife cut a full second off that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings went very smooth this morning,\u201d<\/strong> Cox said after Cyberknife\u2019s workout Saturday.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/KentuckyDerby\/status\/1520817584983191552<\/p>\n

Cox became the first Louisville native to win the Derby as a trainer, thanks to stewards disqualifying Medina Spirit for a drug violation. With Tawny Port and Zozos, he has three horses likely in the field this year, and Cyberknife could be his best bet to finally celebrate in the winner\u2019s circle.<\/p>\n

Cyberknife is currently available at +1600 at Circa, while Baldini\u2019s offers him at +1400.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With less than a week before the Kentucky Derby, the field for the 148th running of the classic race is almost set. On Sunday, Early Voting\u2019s owner notified Churchill Downs the Wood Memorial runner-up would not run in next Saturday\u2019s race. That opened up a spot for Pioneer of Medina, who was next in line, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":211541,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14577,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nKentucky Derby Field Comes Into Focus; Post Positions to be Set Monday<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It's expected that a full field of 20 will run in this year's Kentucky Derby, set for Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kentucky-derby-field-comes-into-focus-ahead-of-mondays-post-position-draw\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kentucky Derby Field Comes Into Focus; Post Positions to be Set Monday\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It's expected that a full field of 20 will run in this year's Kentucky Derby, set for Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kentucky-derby-field-comes-into-focus-ahead-of-mondays-post-position-draw\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-05-02T03:08:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-05-02T19:21:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Cyberknife-Gallop-CD-042722-002.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steve Bittenbender\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Steve Bittenbender\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kentucky-derby-field-comes-into-focus-ahead-of-mondays-post-position-draw\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kentucky-derby-field-comes-into-focus-ahead-of-mondays-post-position-draw\/\",\"name\":\"Kentucky Derby Field Comes Into Focus; Post Positions to be Set Monday\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kentucky-derby-field-comes-into-focus-ahead-of-mondays-post-position-draw\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kentucky-derby-field-comes-into-focus-ahead-of-mondays-post-position-draw\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Cyberknife-Gallop-CD-042722-002.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-05-02T03:08:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-02T19:21:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eb30e765d812fc9b38b333f8d13068b2\"},\"description\":\"It's expected that a full field of 20 will run in this year's Kentucky Derby, set for Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kentucky-derby-field-comes-into-focus-ahead-of-mondays-post-position-draw\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kentucky-derby-field-comes-into-focus-ahead-of-mondays-post-position-draw\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kentucky-derby-field-comes-into-focus-ahead-of-mondays-post-position-draw\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Cyberknife-Gallop-CD-042722-002.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Cyberknife-Gallop-CD-042722-002.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":960,\"caption\":\"Arkansas Derby winner Cyberknife gallops on the track at Churchill Downs last week. 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