LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Things have gone so well all spring for Journalism that the sometimes nerve-wracking event that is the Kentucky Derby post-position draw didn’t weigh heavily on his trainer, Michael McCarthy. But Journalism did fare extremely well, drawing post 8 in a field of 21 entered Saturday for the $5 million Kentucky Derby to be run May 3 at Churchill Downs. A stalking-type runner, Journalism did draw outside most of the expected speed in the race with the exception of East Avenue, who drew post 12. “I have so much confidence in this horse I probably would have been happy with wherever he drew,” McCarthy said afterward. “But there’s plenty of speed inside of us. My horse is very tactical, he’s fast enough in his own right. He’ll bounce out of there, and I’m sure he’ll find himself in a very comfortable spot.” Journalism, who has won four straight races including the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby, was installed as the 5-2 Derby favorite by Daily Racing Form’s David Aragona. He was made the 3-1 morning-line favorite by Churchill Downs linemaker Mike Battaglia. :: DRF Kentucky Derby Package: Save on PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. With the exception of East Avenue, most of the other expected speed of the race drew inside post positions including Citizen Bull, who drew the rail, a post that has not produced a Kentucky Derby winner since Ferdinand in 1986. It appeared the way Bob Baffert had been training Citizen Bull lately that he was going to try to have him come from off the pace under Martin Garcia. That is unlikely to be the case now, even with Baffert removing blinkers from the 2-year-old champion male’s equipment. “He’s definitely not taking back now,” said Baffert, the six-time Kentucky Derby winner who is back in the race again after a three-year absence due to a suspension. “You don’t want to be in the one hole because you’re in the gate a long time.” Baffert did avoid a complete horror show at the draw when Rodriguez, his other entrant in the Derby, drew post 4. Post 2 was still open when Rodriguez got his post. “Thank God, we didn’t get the 1-2,” Baffert said. “That would have been horrible.” Rodriguez won the Wood Memorial on the lead. :: Get DRF Kentucky Oaks & Derby Clocker Reports by Mike Welsch and the DRF Clocker Team Other potential speed horses that drew inside include American Promise (post 5) and Admire Daytona (post 7). On the flip side, two highly-regarded closers, Sandman and Sovereignty, drew outside posts. Sovereignty, the 6-1 second choice on Aragona’s line (5-1 on Battaglia’s) drew post 18, while Sandman, the 8-1 third choice on Aragona’s line (6-1 on Battaglia’s), drew post 17. The statistical oddity there is the fact that post 17 is 0 for 45 in the Derby. Sovereignty is trained by Bill Mott, who won the race in 2019 with Country House who broke from gate 18 after originally drawing post 20. Twenty-one horses were entered in the Kentucky Derby, but the race is limited to 20 starters. Churchill Downs uses a points system to determine which 20 make it into the body of the field. Eighteen horses based in North America are in based on points earned in designated races that began last September and concluded two weeks ago with the Lexington Stakes. Two Japan-based horses, Luxor Cafe and Admire Daytona, earned spots in the starting gate via the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby and the Mideast/Europe Road to the Derby, respectively. Admire Daytona won the U.A.E. Derby in Dubai. Luxor Cafe won the Fukuryu Stakes in Japan. A new wrinkle introduced this year to the points system actually played a role in determining this year’s field. In qualifying points races where only five horses participated, the amount of points awarded was trimmed by 25 percent. The Santa Anita Derby only had five horses, and Baeza, who finished second, earned 37.5 points, rather than the 50 that would have been awarded had their been six or more horses. That resulted in Baeza being on the outside looking in for now. He is the only also-eligible entered and will only get to run if he draws in due to a scratch before 9 a.m. Friday, as per Churchill Downs rules. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2025: Top contenders, odds, point standings, news, and more The good news for Baeza’s connections is that there has been at least one horse scratched from the body of the Derby field each of the last six years. Flavien Prat, the reigning Eclipse Award-winning jockey, has Baeza as his first call if he draws into the Derby. He also is named on Neoequos, the Florida Derby third-place finisher, and will ride him if Baeza does not draw in. The post-position draw capped a long and eventful day at Churchill Downs that began shortly after 5:30 a.m. when American Promise, the Derby hopeful for the 89-year-old legendary trainer D. Wayne Lukas put in a workout over a wet main track. Four hours later, the Derby field underwent a serious renovation when trainer Brad Cox revealed that Florida Derby winner Tappan Street would be forced to miss the race after suffering a condylar fracture to his right foreleg, which was discovered after that horse had a workout. Tappan Street is expected to undergo surgery Sunday, and the plan is for him to return to the races either later this year or early next, according to Elliott Walden, president of WinStar Farm, which co-owns the colt. Cox will still be represented in the field by Jeff Ruby Steaks winner Final Gambit, who drew post 11. The defection of Tappan Street opened a slot in the race for Render Judgment, the Virginia Derby runner-up whose trainer Kenny McPeek said Friday would be pointed to a first-level allowance race on the Derby Day card. His owners, Chris Barccari, Tonni Covel, Michael Makin, and Brook Smith want to run Render Judgment in Derby, so he is now in the field. McPeek won last year’s Kentucky Derby with Mystik Dan. He won it in large part due to a fantastic ride from Brian Hernandez Jr. This year, Hernandez rides Burnham Square, winner of the Blue Grass who drew right alongside Journalism in post 9. McPeek has named Julien Leparoux to ride Render Judgment. Leparoux is winless in 14 rides in the Derby. The long-range forecast for Kentucky Derby Day calls for mostly sunny skies with temperatures in the mid-70s. Kentucky Derby 151 field Post Horse Jockey Odds 1 Citizen Bull Martin Garcia 20-1 2 Neoequos Flavien Prat 30-1 3 Final Gambit Luan Machado 30-1 4 Rodriguez Mike Smith 12-1 5 American Promise Nik Juarez 30-1 6 Admire Daytona Christophe Lemaire 30-1 7 Luxor Cafe Joao Moreira 15-1 8 Journalism Umberto Rispoli 3-1 9 Burnham Square Brian Hernandez Jr. 12-1 10 Grande John Velazquez 20-1 11 Flying Mohawk Joe Ramos 30-1 12 East Avenue Manny Franco 20-1 13 Publisher Irad Ortiz Jr. 20-1 14 Tiztastic Joel Rosario 20-1 15 Render Judgment Julien Leparoux 30-1 16 Coal Battle Juan Vargas 30-1 17 Sandman Jose Ortiz 6-1 18 Sovereignty Junio Alvarado 5-1 19 Chunk of Gold Jareth Loveberry 30-1 20 Owen Almighty Javier Castellano 30-1 21AE Baeza Flavien Prat 12-1 Morning-line odds :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.