Kentucky Derby Post Position Draw Confirmed: 2022 Gates As Zandon Leads Odds

Zandon is the big winner in the 2022 Kentucky Derby post position draw Monday, taking Gate 10 in a field of few other surprises at Churchill Downs.

The Kentucky Derby draw saw all 20 horses receive a gate position for Saturday’s $3m race – and it was Zandon that secured the most successful gate in the race’s long history.

Bookmakers were swift to slash his price in the morning line odds, coming in from +700 Monday morning to a new price of +300. Gate 10 is the most successful post in Kentucky Derby history, with 28.6% of wins coming from this gate. That’s 24 victories from 84 starts – and Zandon is the lucky recipient of that hallowed gate.

Meanwhile, his main rivals for the race – Messier, Taiba and Epicenter – largely received friendly draws as well. But Mo Donegal has it all to do running out of Gate 1 Saturday.

The draw means bookmakers will now spend the next few days chopping and changing their odds. We could well see some changes before Saturday’s race, but for sure Zandon is the biggest winner from a gripping draw.

Kentucky Derby Post Position Draw Confirmed

Below are the confirmed Kentucky Derby post positions, including the latest odds changes…

How Kentucky Derby Draw Affects Horse Racing Odds

The horse racing betting odds have already been shifting in the hours since the draw. The reason for this is that bookmakers are now aware of which horses have the advantage from the gates.

Generally speaking, horses placed in the low numbered gates close to the rail struggle to win the Kentucky Derby. Meanwhile, those drawn towards the high end – gates 17, 18, 19 and 20 – also tend to miss out on winning the race.

The reason? Once the gates open to begin the race, the horses placed toward the rail tend to get stuck behind those in the middle gates. Meanwhile, the horses placed on the outside must cover more ground to reach the front. In effect, an arrow can form at the beginning on the race, with horses in gates 5 to 11 at its point.

Of course, this isn’t always the case, but generally horses in the middle gates have a better chance of leading the field around the first turn.

Interestingly, Pioneer Of Medina, Simplification, Smile Happy and Summer Is Tomorrow were already seeing their odds come in during the hours before Monday’s draw. The bookies aren’t quite sure why a flurry of bets fell on these horses before the draw was even made, but evidently punters were seeking to lock in early prices before the draw changed the odds.

Kentucky Derby Draw Analysis

Now we know the Kentucky Derby confirmed places, we can take a look at the early winners and losers. Here, we analyze the best and worst results from a gripping Kentucky Derby draw…

Good Draw

Zandon, of course, was the big winner from this draw and will likely seek to lead the race from the first turn. But he is joined by Taiba also and Pioneer of Medina on his outside – two horses that could threaten this race, even though their morning line odds expanded once the draw was complete.

Charge It won the Florida Derby, a successful route for Kentucky Derby winners, and is well placed in Gate 8. Tiz the Bomb (9) may also seek to follow Zandon into the first bend. But will the surface work for this temperamental ride?

Bad Draw

Ethereal Road only joined the Kentucky Derby starting list Monday morning and has the worst draw, being thrown into Gate 20. His odds haven’t moved – and in all likelihood they may expand before Saturday.

Mo Donegal starts in Gate 1 – an unfavorable position – although he does race well on the rail. His odds also didn’t change.

The saga of Classic Causeway’s entry into the Kentucky Derby ran for a long time. He was the first to score points in the Road to the Kentucky Derby last fall, but has tailed off. In Gate 17 he’s got a lot of work to do.

And finally, Epicenter’s owners won’t exactly be thrilled with Gate 3. This horse was the favorite before the draw, but his odds now place him second in the running. Epicenter has the bolt speed to avoid an early bunch-up on the rail, but his price may drift between now and race day.

Average Draw

As for those with an average draw, White Abarrio has a historically good post position at 15, but his odds only fell by 200 in the wake of the draw. Barber Road has never finished worse than fourth in eight career starts, and saw his odds fall to +1000 when gifted Gate 14.

Yet it was Happy Jack who enjoyed the biggest odds fall, from +6600 to +3000 after being placed in Gate 2. Happy Jack much prefers the rail to the outside line, so could be a presence to shake things up when the race enters the home straight.