The Kentucky Derby post-position draw is a strangely repressed prelude to a completely unrestrained weekend. Connections to the 20 thoroughbreds entered in the race sat at circular tables in the Aristides Lounge at Churchill Downs on Monday, with dozens of media members and curiosity seekers hovering around the periphery. In a nearly silent atmosphere, post positions are drawn at random and betting odds are assigned.
It’s a city council meeting that primes the pump for the biggest bacchanal in sports, with 150,000 people set to go wild Saturday.
If the draw is an exercise in restraint, it’s fitting that the pulseless Todd Pletcher arrives with the strongest hand. The trainer whose emotions are submerged at all times will command favored Forte (3–1 morning line odds), second choice Tapit Trice (5–1) and undefeated but raw Kingsbarns (12–1).
