Gregory Payan/Associated Press Nineteen horses have an opportunity to etch their names in Kentucky Derby history Saturday. The field for the 2019 edition of the Kentucky Derby was supposed to be 20 horses, but there wasn't a replacement available for Haikal after his scratch Friday. Pre-race favorite Omaha Beach was scratched earlier in the week, which allowed Bodexpress to move into the field as an alternate. With 19 horses starting the race, post positions No. 2 through No. 20 will be used, per Churchill Downs PR. The horses initially drawn in the first 10 posts will shift one to the right, while the competitors originally set for positions No. 13 through No. 20 move one to the left to fill Omaha Beach's spot. Kentucky Derby Post Positions and Jockeys 2. War of Will (Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione) Video Play Button Videos you might like 3. Tax (Junior Alvarado) 4. By My Standards (Gabriel Saez) 5. Gray Magician (Drayden Van Dyke) 6. Improbable (Irad Ortiz Jr.) 7. Vekoma (Javier Castellano) 8. Maximum Security (Luis Saez) 9. Tacitus (Jose Ortiz) 10. Plus Que Parfait (Ricardo Santana Jr.) 11. Cutting Humor (Mike Smith) 12. Code of Honor (John Velazquez) 13. Win Win Win (Julian Pimentel) 14. Master Fencer (Julien Leparoux) 15. Game Winner (Joel Rosario) 16. Roadster (Florent Geroux) 17. Long Range Toddy (Jon Court) 18. Spinoff (Manuel Franco) 19. Country House (Flavien Prat) 20. Bodexpress (Chris Landeros) Predictions Mike Smith's Experience Helps Cutting Humor According to AccuWeather, the track will likely be muddy Saturday, so experienced jockeys will be valued. Mike Smith is as experienced as they come, and he won the 2018 Kentucky Derby in treacherous conditions aboard Justify. Smith was originally set to mount Omaha Beach, but after the scratch, he was approached by trainer Todd Pletcher to ride Cutting Humor. Charlie Riedel/Associated Press Cutting Humor is far from a favorite to win the race, but he should be considered in any trifecta or superfecta bets because of his jockey. Smith should help Cutting Humor get off to a strong start out of the gate and push toward the front end of the field. Given how poor the track may look, the winning horse may have to run a smart race to find the winner's circle instead of overpowering the rest of the field with speed. Game Winner and Roadster Thrive From The Outside Normally, a draw in the outside post positions is seen as a negative for Kentucky Derby contenders. But if the track is muddied by the rain, Game Winner and Roadster could benefit from a clearer path to the front from the outside. Charlie Riedel/Associated Press The pair of Bob Baffert-trained horses are the only contenders in the outside 10 post positions. If Game Winner and Roadster get off to strong starts, they should be able to work their way into the front of the field by using the clean air in front of them from the outside. In contrast, Improbable, Tacitus and Maximum Security will be stuck in a battle from the start since they are lined up close to each other in the middle post positions. While the horses in the middle jockey for position and deal with the mud, Game Winner and Roadster should swoop from the outside in clean air for the majority of the race. If that occurs, it could end up as a head-to-head race between the two. Roadster won the Santa Anita Derby with Game Winner in the field, but Game Winner has a victory at Churchill Downs from the Breeders' Cup Juvenile in November. Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from KentuckyDerby.com.<doc-sep>Charlie Riedel/Associated Press Twenty horses will take their posts at Churchill Downs on Saturday evening. And roughly two minutes after the start of the 145th Kentucky Derby, one of them will be the winner. This is one of the most wide-open Derby fields in recent memory, especially after early betting favorite Omaha Beach was scratched on Wednesday because of a respiratory issue, per the race's Twitter account. Some horses have better chances of winning the Run for the Roses than others. Here's a look at this year's field and odds, as well as some favorites and sleepers to keep an eye on Saturday. Kentucky Derby Post Positions, Odds 1. War of Will (15-1) Video Play Button Videos you might like 2. Tax (20-1) 3. By My Standards (15-1) 4. Gray Magician (50-1) 5. Improbable (5-1) 6. Vekoma (15-1) 7. Maximum Security (8-1) 8. Tacitus (8-1) 9. Plus Que Parfait (30-1) 10. Cutting Humor (30-1) 11. Haikal (30-1) 12. Code of Honor (12-1) 13. Win Win Win (12-1) 14. Master Fencer (50-1) 15. Game Winner (9-2) 16. Roadster (5-1) 17. Long Range Toddy (30-1) 18. Spinoff (30-1) 19. Country House (30-1) 20. Bodexpress (30-1) All horses that drew posts Nos. 13-20 moved in one following Omaha Beach's scratching, per the Derby's Twitter account. Bodexpress took No. 20. Odds via SportsLine, as of Thursday at 6 a.m. ET. Favorites The three horses with the top odds—Game Winner, Improbable and Roadster—are all trained by Bob Baffert, who has five career Kentucky Derby wins, including two in the past four years with Triple Crown winners American Pharoah (2015) and Justify (2018). At least one of Baffert's three horses should be contending for the win in the final stretch of Saturday's race. "It's amazing what a good horse does for your soul," Baffert said, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Eric Crawford. "It puts some pep in your step. When you have a horse that has a chance to win the Derby, it's a totally different feeling. You can't wait to get up. It really keeps you going. It's the beauty of this race." With Omaha Beach out of the race, the chances of one of the three Baffert-trained horses winning the Kentucky Derby went up. Maximum Security and Tacitus are also horses with good odds that could be strong contenders to compete for the win. Sleepers While the Kentucky Derby winner has been the favorite for the past six years, there could also be a long shot that surprises and wins the race. In 2005, when Giacomo, a 50-1 underdog, secured the Derby victory. No horse with odds that low should contend in this year's race, but there are some sleepers to watch heading into Saturday. Win Win Win has finished in the money (top three) in each of its six career races. Another sleeper is Code of Honor, which is trained by Shug McGaughey, whose last horse to compete in the Kentucky Derby was the 2013 winner, Orb. War of Will was among Kentucky Derby contenders before it suffered a patella injury during the Louisiana Derby, in which it finished ninth. Although he had an unfavorable draw and is starting from the No. 1 post, there's a slight chance War of Will could have a strong showing in the Kentucky Derby.<doc-sep>Here are the 20 horses expected to run May 4 in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Click on a horse’s name to learn more and to watch a replay of his last prep race. Horses are ranked by their points on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard. Rank, horse, points, trainer, jockey<doc-sep>
Charlie Riedel/Associated Press The field for the 2019 Kentucky Derby is set at 19 horses. Pre-race favorite Omaha Beach and Haikal scratched from the race during preparations at Churchill Downs this week. Omaha Beach was replaced by alternate horse Bodexpress, while Haikal's spot in the field was left open. The post positions have changed a bit because of the absences. The inside post will be left open, which means the horses drawn into posts No. 1 through No. 10 will shift one spot to the right. When Omaha Beach was scratched earlier in the week, the horses drawn in posts No. 13 through No. 20 shifted one to the left, with Bodexpress taking over post No. 20. Kentucky Derby Field, Post Position and Jockeys 2. War of Will (Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione) Video Play Button Videos you might like 3. Tax (Junior Alvarado) 4. By My Standards (Gabriel Saez) 5. Gray Magician (Drayden Van Dyke) 6. Improbable (Irad Ortiz Jr.) 7. Vekoma (Javier Castellano) 8. Maximum Security (Luis Saez) 9. Tacitus (Jose Ortiz) 10. Plus Que Parfait (Ricardo Santana Jr.) 11. Cutting Humor (Mike Smith) 12. Code of Honor (John Velazquez) 13. Win Win Win (Julian Pimentel) 14. Master Fencer (Julien Leparoux) 15. Game Winner (Joel Rosario) 16. Roadster (Florent Geroux) 17. Long Range Toddy (Jon Court) 18. Spinoff (Manny Franco) 19. Country House (Flavien Prat) 20. Bodexpress (Chris Landeros) Race Guide The scratch of Omaha Beach had a significant impact on the rest of the field. Not only did the scratch take the pre-race favorite out of the competition, it temporarily took jockey Mike Smith, who won the 2018 Kentucky Derby with Justify, off a mount. However, that changed Friday morning, as Cutting Humor trainer Todd Pletcher told ESPN's Marty Smith that Smith would ride the horse instead of Corey Lanerie. Cutting Humor is far from the most successful horse in the field, but he is coming off a victory in the Sunland Park Derby in March. Smith's new mount on top of Cutting Humor is an intriguing wrinkle for a race that is seen by many as a wide-open competition. Three horses trained by Bob Baffert are expected to be in the mix for the victory. Improbable will start on the inside, while Game Winner and Roadster have the chance to work up the pack together from posts No. 15 and No. 16. Michael Reaves/Getty Images If Smith tries to set a fast pace with Cutting Humor, then Game Winner and Roadster could have their work cut out for them to get involved from the outside posts. Smith's presence in one of the middle post positions could benefit Maximum Security and Tacitus, who are the non-Baffert-trained favorites. Both Maximum Security and Tacitus enter the race off recent victories, and they could benefit from a fast pace if Smith sets that with Cutting Humor. Shooting straight out from the middle post positions could throw a wrench in the plans of other jockeys atop horses on the inside and outside horses. The good news for Improbable and Vekoma, who won the Blue Grass Stakes and could be a dark horse to win, is the shift of one position to the right could help them get out fast next to Maximum Security and Tacitus. If anything, the presence of last year's Derby-winning jockey is a positive, and it should make an already wide-open field more competitive. Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90