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Kentucky Derby 2023 post position draw, betting odds; Forte scratches, field down to 18

Jason Frakes, Louisville Courier Journal
·4 min read

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the Monday morning odds for Jace’s Road. The odds are 50-1.

Florida Derby winner Forte, the 4-1 favorite as of 9 a.m. Saturday for Saturday’s $3 million, Grade 1 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, has scratched.

Forte, trained by Todd Pletcher, is the fifth scratch in three days and leaves the 149th Run for the Roses with a field of 18 horses.

Arkansas Derby winner Angel of Empire, trained by Louisville's Brad Cox, and Blue Grass winner Tapit Trice, also trained by Pletcher, were back to co-favorites as of 5:20 p.m. Saturday with 9-2 odds.

Post time for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby is 6:57 p.m. The race will be televised by NBC.

The Derby has seen five scratches since Monday's draw, with Practical Move, Lord Miles and Continuar all announced out of the race Thursday. Skinner was scratched Friday morning because of to a fever. There are no also-eligible horses left with King Russell moved into the field Thursday night following Continuar's scratch.

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The dreaded inside post went to No. 1 Hit Show.

The only post that never has produced a Derby winner is No. 17, which went to Derma Sotogake originally. That now belongs to Mandarin Hero, an also-eligible now in the race after Thursday's scratches. The best finish from post No. 17 came in 1988 when Forty Niner was second behind Winning Colors.

Pletcher is now down to two horses in the field but still has a strong hand with Tapit Trice and Kingsbarns. Tapit Trice, a son of Tapit, won the Grade 1 Blue Grass on April 8 at Keeneland and is 4-0-1 in five career starts.

Louisville trainer Brad Cox has four horses in the field — No. 12 Angel of Empire (9-2 odds), No. 2 Verifying (15-1), No. 1 Hit Show (25-1) and No. 10 Jace’s Road (30-1).

Cox got his first Derby victory in 2021 when Mandaloun was declared the winner after the disqualification of Medina Spirit.

Todd Pletcher is looking at where his three Kentucky Derby entries fall for the race at the Kentucky Derby Draw 2023.May 1, 2023
Todd Pletcher is looking at where his three Kentucky Derby entries fall for the race at the Kentucky Derby Draw 2023.May 1, 2023

2023 Kentucky Derby post position, horse, trainer, jockey, odds (updated 5:20 p.m. Saturday)

1. Hit Show, Brad Cox, Manny Franco, 24-1

2. Verifying, Brad Cox, Tyler Gaffalione, 15-1

3. Two Phil’s, Larry Rivelli, Jareth Loveberry, 8-1

4. Confidence Game, Keith Desormeaux, James Graham, 17-1

5. Tapit Trice, Todd Pletcher, Luis Saez, 9-2

6. Kingsbarns, Todd Pletcher, Jose Ortiz, 10-1

7. Reincarnate, Tim Yakteen, John Velazquez, 12-1

8. Mage, Gustavo Delgado, Javier Castellano, 17-1

9. Skinner, John Shirreffs, Juan Hernandez SCRATCHED

10. Practical Move, Tim Yakteen, Ramon Vazquez SCRATCHED

11. Disarm, Steve Asmussen, Joel Rosario, 24-1

12 Jace’s Road, Brad Cox, Florent Geroux, 30-1

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13. Sun Thunder, Kenny McPeek, Brian Hernandez Jr., 28-1

14. Angel of Empire, Brad Cox, Flavien Prat, 9-2

15. Forte, Todd Pletcher, Irad Ortiz Jr. SCRATCHED

16. Raise Cain, Ben Colebrook, Gerardo Corrales, 29-1

17. Derma Sotogake, Hidetaka Otonashi, Christophe Lemaire, 8-1

18. Rocket Can, Bill Mott, Junior Alvarado, 27-1

19. Lord Miles, Saffie Joseph Jr., Paco Lopez SCRATCHED

20. Continuar, Yoshito Yahagi, Ryusei Sakai SCRATCHED

21. Cyclone Mischief, Dale Romans, Irad Ortiz Jr, 28-1

22. Mandarin Hero, Terunobu Fujita, Kazushi Kimura, 19-1

23. King Russell, Ron Moquett, Rafael Bejarano, 30-1

Also eligible

None remaining

Kentucky Derby 2023 pre-race reading

Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @KentuckyDerbyCJ.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Updated Saturday Kentucky Derby betting odds after Forte scratched