Lookin At Lucky (3-1), early Kentucky Derby favorite, starts from post 1 and Sidney’s Candy, the 5-1 second choice, didn’t fare any better at the opposite end of the starting gate — No. 20 — and will be taking the widest trip around Churchill Downs.
By compromising the two favorites, the Derby becomes a wide-open race a year after 50-1 shot Mine That Bird pulled off a last-to-first stunner under a rail-hugging ride by Calvin Borel.
Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia said the inauspicious No. 1 position didn’t significantly affect Lookin At Lucky’s odds and that he’ll still go off at 3-1, in part because Sidney’s Candy, the second choice at 5-1, drew the No. 20 position.
Although the No. 1 position has produced 12 Derby winners since 1900, tied for the most all time, many of those wins came before the field expanded to 20 horses. No horse has won starting on the rail since Ferdinand in 1986. Big Brown won from the No. 20 post in 2008 but was only the second horse to accomplish that feat.
The entire field will have to overcome a dismal forecast that calls for a 60 percent chance of rain Saturday, with accumulations of up to 2 inches.
The field from the rail out is: Lookin At Lucky, 3-1; Ice Box, 10-1; Noble’s Promise, 12-1; Super Saver, 15-1; Line of David, 30-1; Stately Victor, 30-1; American Lion, 30-1; Dean’s Kitten, 50-1; Make Music for Me, 50-1; Paddy O’Prado, 20-1; Devil May Care, 10-1; Conveyance, 12-1; Jackson Bend, 15-1; Mission Impazible, 20-1; Discreetly Mine, 30-1; Awesome Act, 10-1; Dublin, 12-1; Backtalk, 50-1; Homeboykris, 50-1; and Sidney’s Candy, 5-1.