One Kentucky Derby post position has never seen a winner. Chunk of Gold hopes to change that
The gate numbers, known as post positions, are decided by a random drawing. Betting odds shift based on where horses start and how they respond to certain posts, according to Covers.com, with the biggest swings often for No. 1 – which hasn't seen a winner since 1986 – and the outermost positions.
While post position 5 has had the best record with 10 winners, the most recent being Always Dreaming in 2017, post position 17 is the only one that hasn't produced a single first-place finish.
But could this be the year the curse ends? Sandman, ridden by highly-regarded jockey Jose L. Ortiz, was initially assigned post position 17 with enviable 5-1 odds, according to Twinspires.com. That changed, however, when two horses, Grande and Rodriguez were scratched late in the week, moving Chunk of Gold, at 30-1, into the 17th position, according to Covers.
The 3-year-old gray/roan colt finished second consecutively in the Risen Star and the Louisiana Derby, according to the Derby's profile. 'With his closing running style, proven stamina, and improving form, Chunk of Gold profiles as an interesting longshot candidate for the Kentucky Derby.'
The odds-on favorite to win the Derby, Journalism, has 3-1 odds as of Friday afternoon. Journalism will be running from post 7, which has seen eight winners, including Mandaloun in 2021.
See the complete number of wins by post position below:
Post Record (entries-win-place-show) Win % Avg. Finish Last Winner Last Top 5
1 95-8-5-5 8.4% 8.20 Ferdinand (1986) Hit Show (5th, 2023)
2 95-7-6-13 7.4% 8.13 Affirmed (1978) Sierra Leone (2nd, 2024)
3 95-6-8-8 6.3% 8.19 Mystik Dan (2024) Mystik Dan (1st
, 2024)
4 95-5-6-4 5.3% 8.72 Super Saver (2010 Catching Freedom (4th, 2024)
5 95-10-8-4 10.5% 7.45 Always Dreaming (2017) Improbable (4
th, 2019)
6 95-2-8-3 2.1% 9.55 Sea Hero (1993) O Besos (4th, 2021)
7 94-8-6-6 8.5% 7.87 Mandaloun (2021) Mandaloun (1st, 2021)
8 94-9-5-5 9.6% 8.57 Mage (2023) Mage (1
st, 2023)
9 91-4-6-8 4.4% 8.63 Riva Ridge (1972) Disarm (4th, 2023)
10 88-9-6-11 10.2% 7.72 Giacomo (2005) T O Password (JPN) (5th, 2024)
11 84-2-6-4 2.4% 9.06 Winning Colors (1988) Forever Young (JPN) (3rd, 2024)
12 80-3-3-4 3.8% 9.60 Canonero II (1971) Angel of Empire (3rd, 2023)
13 78-5-5-7 6.4% 8.24 Nyquist (2016) Simplification (4
th, 2022)
14 68-2-6-6 2.9% 9.21 Carry Back (1961) Essential Quality (3rd, 2021)
15 63-6-2-1 9.5% 10.22 Authentic (2020) Authentic (1st, 2020)
16 52-4-3-3 7.7% 10.27 Animal Kingdom (2011) Honor A. P. (4th, 2020)
17 45-0-1-2 0.0% 11.24 Don't Get Mad (4th, 2005)
18 37-2-4-0 5.4% 9.43 Country House (2019) Country House (1
st, 2019)
19 31-1-1-0 3.2% 12.32 I'll Have Another (2012) Wicked Strong (4th, 2014)
20 19-2-0-1 10.5% 11.05 Rich Strike (2022) Rich Strike (1st, 2022)
While gamblers might tend to shy away from certain posts, not everyone is convinced that 17 is the burden its underwhelming record suggests.
Horse racing handicapper Michael Dempsey told NBC that he would actually prefer the 17th post to some of the inner positions, and suspects the miserable win-loss record is just a statistical anomaly.
'I don't really think the outside posts are a disadvantage, even though the statistics tell us otherwise,' Dempsey said. 'If I liked a horse to win a race and then he drew that 17, 18, or 19 post, that wouldn't sway me.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Stoke can set the tone for a better season
Stoke City got exactly the start they needed on day one of the Championship season. The first half promised much, Stoke were dominant, had more than 70% of the ball and looked comfortable in defence. It seemed like a matter of time before the deadlock was broken. That it was Derby who got the first goal was a surprise that brought back bad memories. Too often last season Stoke threatened throughout games but ultimately lost because they weren't clinical enough in the final third. This new Stoke side feels different already. They were more intense, dynamic and determined to play on the front foot than the team we saw last season and Lewis Baker's quick equaliser kept the crowd on board. The fans will play a part this season and were loud from the minute Steven Nzonzi came out to wave before kick-off as he begins a second spell at the club with a 2018 World Cup winner's medal to show for his travels. The volume from the stands was rewarded with a Divin Mubama header from a brilliant Tatsuki Seko cross and a goal from fellow debutant Sorba Thomas, assisted by another new signing in Jamie Donley. Mubama's movement and work rate was excellent throughout and Aaron Cresswell added his calm experience in addition to quality delivery from out wide as all of the new signings impressed. An EFL Cup tie at home to lower division opposition (Walsall) and an away game against troubled Sheffield Wednesday gives The Potters the opportunity to turn a great opening day into a an opening week that sets the tone for a much better season.
Forbes
5 days ago
- Forbes
Baffert Continues To Cultivate Talent At Del Mar
How does a coach continuously produce winners? Is it luck, hard work, talent levels in the ranks, execution of the gameplan, or a combination of the previously listed? Most familiar with competition understand it is usually some of all of the above. For one Thoroughbred trainer it has been all of the aforementioned plus a great garden spot that has been excellent for cultivating young horses. Bob Baffert has long been considered one of the best in the Thoroughbred racing game. Rightfully so we must add as he has had more horses cross the finish line first in the world's most famous race (7), the Kentucky Derby, trained more Preakness winners than anyone (8), has three wins in the Belmont Stakes, and has conditioned nineteen Breeders' Cup race winners. For good measure, 'Big Race Bob' also has more Grade 1 race wins (the highest level of competition) than any trainer in the game. How has this Arizona native remained at the pinnacle of the sport since beginning his Thoroughbred conditioning career in 1991? It all begins with developing his younger talent where the surf meets the turf down at old Del Mar. Nestled just north of San Diego, this piece of Thoroughbred racing heaven has been a prime location for the Baffert barn over the years. 'There are lots of things that make Del Mar a great place for our young horses', says Baffert, who has conditioned two Triple Crown winners (American Pharoah 2015, Justify 2018). 'The weather is always good and there is very little rain which is very important. You don't miss training time and that can be a big key in development. The track is always in great shape, the atmosphere is good, and it's just a great environment to be in.' Success has been synonymous with this Hall of Fame conditioner at the Seaside Oval as he has far more Stakes wins (177) at Del Mar than any other trainer. Among those are an incredible nineteen wins in the Del Mar Futurity and eleven in the Best Pal Stakes, two of the biggest races for two-year-old males at the track founded by Bing Crosby in 1937. 'Our program puts a lot of emphasis on developing young horses', says Baffert. 'We believe in doing it the right way. Some come around quicker than others. Each horse has to be handled a little differently because like any athlete, some develop quicker mentally and physically than others. Being patient is very important with all of them. Authentic is a good example of a horse we didn't run at Del Mar in the summer of his two-year-old year because he just was not ready. At three he won the Kentucky Derby and the Breeders' Cup Classic.' Developing young talent with works and races at Del Mar every summer has long been a staple of his team's success throughout the last three plus decades. Even though he is the man with the lineup card and pencil, Baffert points to other components as mainstays for his team's success. 'I am very fortunate to have clients that want to run in and win stakes races', says Baffert. 'They give me the freedom to pick the horses we purchase and buying the right horses is where it all begins. Our goal is always to run in the biggest races across the entire country and go in with a real chance to win. Having great people around me and backing me is most important. And it also is fantastic to get those young horses going at a great place like Del Mar.' The Bob Baffert barn will send two runners to post in the grade 3 Best Pal Stakes on Saturday, August 9. St. Petersburg will break from gate 3 and Desert Gate breaks from the 5 hole in the six furlong race over the Del Mar dirt.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
How many Schwarbombs can Kyle Schwarber hit? 50? 60? Phillies slugger on-team record HR pace
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ryan Howard hit home runs as far and as fast as any slugger of his era. He's still the only player to sock one completely into the third deck in 22 years of Citizens Bank Park — and he did it twice. So how about it, Ryan. Who would win in a home run derby in their primes between two of the best Phillies to ever launch 'em over the fence? Howard — the only Phillie to top 50 homers in a season, when he totaled 58 in 2006 — or current sensation Kyle Schwarber? Schwarber leads the National League with 40 homers, and No. 40 came in style, a grand slam as he dug in to roaring 'MVP! MVP!' chants. 'It'd be a tight one,' Howard said. 'Young Howie put some balls in the seats. Schwarbs is nothing to sneeze at.' Schwarber's 40 homers this season put him well ahead of the pace to best his career-high of 47 set in 2023, one better than the 46 he hit in 2022 in the first season of a four-year, $79 million free-agent contract. Howard's team mark of 58 remains in play if Schwarber keeps scorching balls like he has since he won All-Star Game MVP honors after he hit three homers in the game's first-ever swing-off. Schwarber has 10 homers — dubbed Schwarbombs that have made him arguably the most popular franchise star — since the break for the Phillies, who lead the NL East as they get set to open a 10-game road trip on Friday in Texas. Howard hit 198 homers from 2006 to 2009 and helped the Phillies win the 2008 World Series before his career was cut short by injury. It's the ring he treasures most these days. But he looks back now in admiration of his record 2006 season, a feat he didn't necessarily enjoy as much in real time, just as he expected Schwarber to do of this season well after retirement. 'I think he'll look back and one day say, 'I hit 50 home runs, and have no clue how I did,'' Howard said. Howard might be on to something. Schwarber indeed says he has no clue why his home run total has been going, going, gone through the roof at this point of the season. 'You go into every year in the offseason and you try and find ways to keep getting better,' he said. 'It's not like I went into the offseason saying I want to try and hit more home runs or anything like that. I think it's just trying to be consistent with what you're doing. The more consistency you can find in your swing and in your work, I think that will lead to results on the field.' His results are a key reason why the Phillies are on track to make the playoffs for the fourth straight season. He hit 40 homers in the Phillies' first 112 games — one more than Howard over the first 112 games of 2006. His .965 OPS is third in baseball and he leads baseball with 94 RBIs. Schwarber has played every game this season, almost exclusively as the designated hitter. Perhaps no moment so far this season has been as automatic an entry into the season highlight video as his game Monday against Baltimore. Schwarber had already connected on a two-run home run deep in the second deck. The crowd of 41,099 fans were in a Schwarbomb frenzy when he came to the plate in the sixth. He heard the MVP chants as he sent one into the right-center seats off Yaramil Hiraldo for his ninth career grand slam and second of the season. 'Those are the moments that you take in as a player,' Schwarber said. 'Those are special things that happen and that kind of just go in the back of the memory. Hold on to those things for a while. It was obviously a really cool thing and I appreciate it.' Schwarber's production raises two pivotal questions down the stretch; Can a designated hitter in the National League not named Shohei Ohtani win MVP and just how much of the bank will Schwarber break when the impending free agent signs his new deal? Schwarber and the Phillies failed to reach a deal ahead of the season and contract talks were tabled until after the season. Phillies managing partner John Middleton has remained steadfast in his commitment to wanting Schwarber back. 'We need no motivation whatsoever when it comes to Kyle Schwarber,' Middleton said in July. 'He's great. We thought he was great when we signed him years ago. We thought he was great consistently through the years. There's nothing Kyle does that surprises us." Schwarber could command a new deal that would place him among the highest-paid players in the game. Fair enough, perhaps, for what's he accomplished over his four seasons in Philadelphia. But can a player who turns 33 ahead of next season really be counted on to club 40-plus homers a season deep into his 30s without adding any defensive value? Maybe if that player wins an MVP (oh, and a World Series). Ohtani last season became the first primary designated hitter and first player who didn't appear defensively for a single inning to win an MVP. The Los Angeles Dodgers star remained the favorite in 2025 to win another one, with Schwarber a distant second, per BetMGM Sportsbook. But hitting 50 homers — do we hear 60? — is still very much in play for Schwarber even if he's not sure how he's doing it. 'Sometimes it's just one of those things where you're just in it,' Howard said, 'and it just happens.' ___ AP MLB:
