KENTUCKY DERBY DRAW | Zandon draws No. 10 post, is 3-1 morning line Derby favorite | Derby 148

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Zandon, an impressive 2 1/2-length winner of the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, was made a 3-1 morning-line favorite and drew the No. 10 post for the 148th edition of the Kentucky Derby, which goes to post at 6:57 p.m. Saturday.

Trained by Chad Brown, Zandon has looked excellent in recent training and clearly impressed oddsmaker Mike Battaglia, who chose Zandon narrowly over Steve Asmussen's Epicenter, winner of all four of his races this year.

Zandon would be the first Blue Grass runner to win the Derby since Street Sense back in 2007. Brown is 0-for-6 in the Derby, but three of those were top-five finishes, including a runner-up finish with Good Magic in 2018, and Brown has been extremely confident in his colt.

Epicenter drew the No. 3 post and was made the second choice in the morning line.

Winner of the Louisiana Derby, Epicenter won three of the four Fair Grounds preps this spring. Asmussen is seeking his first win in the Kentucky Derby, after 23 starts, including disappointing but in-the-money finishes from Curlin and Gun Runner.

The third choice is Messier, trained by Tim Yakteen. He was second in the Louisiana Derby, but before that had been dominant for trainer Bob Baffert, who is under suspension in Kentucky and had to move his Derby contenders to Yakteen. Messier will break from the No. 6 post and is 8-1 in the morning line.

Post positions, jockey and odds for the 20-horse field.:

1. Mo Donegal (Irad Ortiz Jr.): 10-1

In the difficult rail spot, the Todd Pletcher-trained colt is coming off a win in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial.

2. Happy Jack (Rafael Bejarano): 30-1

Trained by two-time Kentucky Derby winner Doug O'Neill.

3. Epicenter (Joel Rosario): 7-2

Got his name because of an earthquake near naming time. Will be the shortest-odds entry by Asmussen.

4. Summer is Tomorrow (Michael Barzalona): 30-1

Could be the early speed in the race.

5. Smile Happy (Corey Lanerie): 20-1

Has finished second his last two starts, including as beaten favorite in the Blue Grass Stakes.

6. Messier (John Velazquez): 8-1

Trained by Bob Baffert until the Santa Anita Derby.

7. Crown Pride (Cristophe Lemarire): 20-1

The Japanese-bred has been a curiosity for his unusual training style at Churchill, but

8. Charge It (Luis Saez): 20-1

Whisper Hill Farm's colt is ridden by the jockey who was disqualified on Maximum Security. He comes off a win in the Florida Derby.

9. Tiz the Bomb (Brian Hernandez Jr.): 30-1

Won the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks on April 2 at Turfway Park by 2 ¼ lengths over stablemate Tawny Port.

10. Zandon (Flavian Prat): 3-1

Chad Brown's Blue Grass Stakes winner has impressed in recent workouts.

11. Pioneer of Medina (Joe Bravo): 30-1

Todd Pletcher trained colt drew into the field on Sunday.

12. Taiba (Mike Smith): 12-1

Won the Santa Anita Derby in only his second career start, will seek to make history with a Derby win win his third. Smith would be the oldest winner Derby jockey.

13. Simplification (Jose Ortiz): 20-1

The Fountain of Youth winner was third in the Florida Derby.

14. Barber Road (Ray Gutierrez): 30-1

Never worse than fourth in his career.

15. White Abarrio (Tyler Gaffalione): 15-1

Second Derby for his trainer Saffie Joseph, who grew up around horse racing in Barbados.

16. Cyberknife (Florent Geroux): 20-1

The winner of the Arkansas Derby dumped Geroux before that race, which leads to some concerns over how he'll handle the massive Kentucky Derby crowd and that post parade. Still, he flashed talent once he left the gate at Oaklawn and is one of three colts in the race for Brad Cox.

17. Classic Causeway (Julien Leparoux): 30-1

First was out of Derby discussion, then put back in after a positive workout.

18. Tawny Port (Ricardo Santana Jr.): 30-1

Ran second in the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Stakes on April 2, then punched his Derby ticket with a win in the last-chance Lexington Stakes at Keeneland two weeks later.

19. Zozos (Manny Franco): 20-1

Another colt expected to try to get to the front quickly. Trained by Brad Cox.

20. Ethereal Road (Luis Contreras): 30-1

Gives 86-year-old Wayne Lukas his 50th Kentucky Derby starter.

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