In The Know : Post Positions for Oaks and Derby

Congratulations to the extraordinary teams for Believe You Can and I'll Have Another the 2012 Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby Winners!

Post Positions for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks

Post Positions determine where the contender will be in relation to the rail, with Post Position #1 closest to the rail. To learn more about why Post Positions are important, check out the scoop below the post positions for the Kentucky Derby and the post positions for the Kentucky Oaks.

Post positions for the 138th running were held on May 3, 2012 at 5pm ET.

Kentucky Derby Post Positions

Running 1 1/8 miles on dirt for a $2 million purse, the 2012 Kentucky Derby race is set for Saturday, May 5, at Louisville's Churchill Downs. Post time is 6:24 p.m. ET.

 

Kentucky Oaks Post Positions

Running 1 1/8 miles on dirt for a $1 million purse, the 2012 Kentucky Oaks race is set for Friday, May 4, at Louisville's Churchill Downs. Post time is 5:45 p.m. ET.

Full lineup for the 138th running of the Kentucky Oaks.
This roster is subject to change, as scratches may occur.

  • Post Position #1 - On Fire Baby (Smoke Glacken x Ornate by Gilded Time) is owned by Anita Cauley and trained by Gary Hartlage, with Joe Johnson assigned as jockey.

  • Post Position #2 - Grace Hall (Empire Maker x Season's Greetings by Ezzoud) is owned by Michael Dubb, Bethlehem Stables and The Elkstone Group LLC and trained by Anthony W. Dutrow, with Javier Castellano assigned as jockey.

  • Post Position #3 - Summer Applause (Harlan's Holiday x Summer Exhibition x Royal Academy) is owned by Gillian Campbell, R Group Management Ltd. and Greenwood Lodge Farm and trained by W. Bret Calhoun, with Garrett Gomez assigned as jockey.

  • Post Position #4 - Eden's Moon (Malibu Moon x Eden's Causeway by Giant's Causeway) is owned by Kaleem Shah and trained by Bob Baffert, with Martin Garcia assigned as jockey.

  • Post Position #5 - Hard Not to Like (Hard Spun x Like A Gem by Tactical Cat) is owned by Hillsbrook Farm and trained by Gail Cox, with Robby Albarado assigned as jockey.

  • Post Position #6 - Broadway's Alibi (Vindication x Broadway Gold by Seeking the Gold) is owned by E. Paul Robsham Stables and trained by Todd A. Pletcher, with John Velazquez assigned as jockey.

  • Post Position #7 - Sacristy (Pulpit x Christies Treasure by Belong to Me) is owned by Peachtree Stables and trained by Wayne M. Catalano, with Mike Smith assigned as jockey.

  • Post Position #8 - Jemima's Pearl (Distorted Humor x Jemima by Owington) is owned by Gillian Campbell, R Group Management Ltd. and Greenwood Lodge Farm and trained by Bob Barrert, with Joe Talamo assigned as jockey.

  • Post Position #9 - Believe You Can (Proud Citizen x E. Fasto by El Prado) is owned by Brereton C. Jones and trained by J. Larry Jones, with Rosie Napravnik assigned as jockey.

  • Post Position #10 - And Why Not (Street Cry x Alchemist by A. P. Indy) is owned by Helen K. Groves and trained by Michael R. Matz, with Julien Leparoux assigned as jockey.

  • Post Position #11 - Karlovy Vary (Dynaformer x The Right Pew by Pulpit) is owned by Alex G. Campbell, Jr., and trained by George R. Arnold, II, with James Graham assigned as jockey.

  • Post Position #12 - Colonial Empress (Empire Maker x Colonella by Pleasant Colony) is owned by Bluegrass Hall LLC and trained by D. Wayne Lukas, with Corey Nakatani assigned as jockey.

  • Post Position #13 - Amie's Dini (Bandini x Run Kate Run by Cherokee Run) is owned by Lou Sutterfield and Mike Walker and trained by Ron Moquett, with Jon Court assigned as jockey.

  • Post Position #14 - Yara (Put It Back x Ashlee's Lady by Gilded Time) is owned by Peras International and trained by Jose Garoffalo, with Jesus Castanon assigned as jockey.

The 2012 Kentucky Oaks post position resulted in an overflow field, with one additional horse drawn.

  • Alternate: Oaks Lily (Badge Of Silver x En Silence by Rahy) is owned by Jonathan Rey, Javier Sarmiento and Dante Zanelli, Jr., and trained by Tim Hills, with Rafael Bejarano assigned as his jockey.

Oaks Lily will only enter the Kentucky Oaks lineup, if one of the other horses is scratched.

Why do Post Positions Matter in Horse Racing?

Some analysts believe that a contenders' chances of winning are partially dictated by where they'll start the race.

Statistically, horses that start the race closer to the rail have historically won more often. In every race, all contenders will be vying for the rail position around the track, knowing that the farther from the rail a horse is, the more ground it has to cover to get to the same spot. 

So what is the strategy to getting closer to the rail? The best bet is if a contender draws a post position on the rail.  Drawing that number one position can also have it's downside. Though they have less ground to cover, they also run the risk of being squeezed down the front-stretch, losing position and having to back-off going into the first turn and will spend the remainder of the race competing for the coveted inside track. Contenders that are posted farther away from the rail must gain ground in the opening stretch to secure the inside rail position so they will need to be ready to dash at the start of the race to remain competitive. Since the starting line begins on a straight-away, the horses in the first 10 post positions have a much better shot at using their straight-line speed to break away and secure the inside rail position.

Of course there is much more than Post Positions that can effect the outcome of the winning contender. To find out what some of those factors are, check out the tips and insights from our Derby Experts!

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