What’s the best post position to have in the 2026 Kentucky Derby?

This past weekend, post positions were drawn for the 2026 edition of the Grade 1, $5 million Kentucky Derby, to be run Saturday night at Churchill Downs in Louisville.

And right from the start of the post-position draw, there was drama.

Renegade, the eventual 4-1 morning-line favorite, was the second horse given a post position and drew No. 1, the furthest inside starting spot. The most recent horse to win the Derby from post position No. 1 was Ferdinand in 1986.

That assignment alone made this year’s post-position draw one of the most consequential in recent memory.

All 20 horses and their connections expected to participate in Saturday’s Derby know their starting spots.

But, this can change at a moment’s notice.

On Wednesday morning, Silent Tactic — who drew the No. 13 starting gate — scratched out of the Derby with a bruised foot. This means Great White is now in the Derby after previously being on the also-eligible list. It also means the horses who were drawn to the outside of Silent Tactic will each move in one post position.

The same process was repeated Thursday when Fulleffort — who drew the No. 20 starting gate and was set to begin the race from post No. 19 — scratched out of the Derby with a chip left hind ankle. This moved Ocelli into the Derby field.

It happened again Friday morning, when Right to Party scratched out of the Derby and Robusta shifted into the expected starting gate.

There’s plenty of history that indicates which post positions are the best to have in the Derby, dating back to the first use of a starting gate in 1930.

Before the starting gate, horses were dispatched by using ropes, ribbon or wooden barriers.

Here’s the complete history of the results of horses from each Kentucky Derby post position since a starting gate was first adopted.

What are the post position results for the Kentucky Derby since 1930?

POST POSITION NO. 1: 8 wins, 5 second-place finishes, 5 third-place finishes from 96 starts.

• Last winner? Ferdinand (1986).
• Last top-three finish? Lookin At Lee (second, 2017).
• This year’s No. 1: Renegade (4-1 morning-line odds).

POST POSITION NO. 2: 7 wins, 6 seconds, 13 thirds from 96 starts.

• Last winner? Affirmed (1978).
• Last top-three finish? Sierra Leone (second, 2024).
• This year’s No. 2: Albus (30-1).

POST POSITION NO. 3: 6 wins, 8 seconds, 8 thirds from 96 starts.

• Last winner? Mystik Dan (2024).
• Last top-three finish? Mystik Dan.
• This year’s No. 3: Intrepido (50-1).

POST POSITION NO. 4: 5 wins, 6 seconds, 4 thirds from 96 starts.

• Last winner? Super Saver (2010).
• Last top-three finish? Danza (third, 2014).
• This year’s No. 4: Litmus Test (30-1).

POST POSITION NO. 5: 10 wins, 8 seconds, 4 thirds from 96 starts.

• Last winner? Always Dreaming (2017).
• Last top-three finish? Audible (third, 2018).
• This year’s No. 5: Commandment (6-1).

Commandment is program No. 6.

POST POSITION NO. 6: 2 wins, 8 seconds, 3 thirds from 96 starts.

• Last winner? Sea Hero (1993).
• Last top-three finish? Good Magic (second, 2018).
• This year’s No. 6: Danon Bourbon (20-1).

Danon Bourbon is program No. 7.

POST POSITION NO. 7: 8 wins, 7 seconds, 6 thirds from 95 starts.

• Last winner? Mandaloun (2021).
• Last top-three finish? Journalism (second, 2025).
• This year’s No. 7: So Happy (15-1).

So Happy is program No. 8.

POST POSITION NO. 8: 9 wins, 5 seconds, 5 thirds from 95 starts.

• Last winner? Mage (2023).
• Last top-three finish? Mage.
• This year’s No. 8: The Puma (10-1).

The Puma is program No. 9.

POST POSITION NO. 9: 4 wins, 6 seconds, 8 thirds from 92 starts.

• Last winner? Riva Ridge (1972).
• Last top-three finish? Hot Rod Charlie (second, 2021).
• This year’s No. 9: Wonder Dean (JPN) (30-1).

Wonder Dean is program No. 10.

POST POSITION NO. 10: 9 wins, 6 seconds, 11 thirds from 89 starts.

• Last winner? Giacomo (2005).
• Last top-three finish? Forever Young (third, 2024).
• This year’s No. 10: Incredibolt (20-1).

Incredibolt is program No. 11.

POST POSITION NO. 11: 2 wins, 6 seconds, 4 thirds from 85 starts.

• Last winner? Winning Colors (1988).
• Last top-three finish? Code of Honor (second, 2019).
• This year’s No. 11: Chief Wallabee (8-1).

Chief Wallabee is program No. 12.

POST POSITION NO. 12: 3 wins, 3 seconds, 4 thirds from 81 starts.

• Last winner? Canonero II (1971).
• Last top-three finish? Angel of Empire (third, 2023).
• This year’s No. 12: Potente (20-1).

Potente is program No. 14.

POST POSITION NO. 13: 5 wins, 5 seconds, 7 thirds from 79 starts.

• Last winner? Nyquist (2016).
• Last top-three finish? Nyquist.
• This year’s No. 13: Emerging Market (15-1).

Emerging Market is program No. 15.

POST POSITION NO. 14: 2 wins, 6 seconds, 6 thirds from 69 starts.

• Last winner? Carry Back (1961).
• Last top-three finish? Essential Quality (third, 2021).
• This year’s No. 14: Pavlovian (30-1).

Pavlovian is program No. 16

POST POSITION NO. 15: 6 wins, 2 seconds, 1 third from 64 starts.

• Last winner? Authentic (2020).
• Last top-three finish? Authentic.
• This year’s No. 15: Six Speed (50-1).

Six Speed is program No. 17.

POST POSITION NO. 16: 5 wins, 3 seconds, 3 thirds from 53 starts.

• Last winner? Sovereignty (2025).
• Last top-three finish? Sovereignty.
• This year’s No. 16: Further Ado (6-1).

Further Ado is program No. 18.

POST POSITION NO. 17: 0 wins, 1 second, 2 thirds from 46 starts.

• Last winner? None.
• Last top-three finish? Forty Niner (second, 1988).
• This year’s No. 17: Golden Tempo (30-1).

Golden Tempo is program No. 19.

POST POSITION NO. 18: 2 wins, 4 seconds, 0 thirds from 38 starts.

• Last winner? Country House (2019).
• Last top-three finish? Country House.
• This year’s No. 18: Great White (50-1).

Great White is program No. 21.

POST POSITION NO. 19: 1 win, 1 second, 1 third from 32 starts.

• Last winner? I’ll Have Another (2012).
• Last top-three finish? Baeza (third, 2025).
• This year’s No. 19: Ocelli (50-1).

Ocelli is program No. 22.

POST POSITION NO. 20: 2 wins, 0 seconds, 1 third from 19 starts.

• Last winner? Rich Strike (2022).
• Last top-three finish? Rich Strike.
• This year’s No. 20: Robusta (50-1).

Robusta is program No. 23.

There have been four combined starts from the No. 21, No. 22 and No. 23 post positions in Derby history. None of those horses finished in the money, and those starting spots no longer exist.

Starting with the 2020 race, Churchill Downs began using a custom 20-horse starting gate for the Derby. The 65-foot gate replaced the practice of using two gates to accommodate all the Derby horses.

This new gate eliminates a wide gap between post position No. 14 in the main gate and post position No. 15 in the auxiliary gate. It also helps mitigate the disadvantage for horses drawn near the rail, which will be a major factor to watch in this year’s race with Renegade in post No. 1.

Which post positions are historically the best in the Kentucky Derby?

The only post position to produce double-digit Kentucky Derby winners since 1930 is the No. 5 post. That starting gate has produced 10 winners, with the most recent being Always Dreaming in 2017. With 10 winners from 96 starters, the win percentage from post No. 5 is 10.4%.

Commandment, who is trained by Louisville native Brad Cox, holds the No. 5 post for the 2026 Derby.

The two post positions with the best winning percentage in the Derby since 1930 are the No. 20 post and the No. 5 post.

Out of only 19 total starters from post No. 20, two horses have won the Kentucky Derby: Big Brown in 2008 and Rich Strike in 2022. That’s a winning percentage of 10.5%, skewed by the small number of starters compared to other starting gates.

The No. 20 post — which wasn’t used in last year’s Derby — is held this year by Robusta. Cristian Torres will ride the Doug O’Neill trainee.

In addition to the No. 20 and No. 5 posts, the only other Derby starting gate with a greater than 10% winning percentage is post No. 10, with a 10.1% winning percentage since 1930.

This year, the No. 10 post is held by Incredibolt.

Golden Tempo is looking to become the first horse to ever win the Derby from the No. 17 post.

Starters from post No. 17 are 0 for 46 when it comes to winning the Kentucky Derby. Only three starters from that post have finished in the money. The most recent horse to finish in the top five of the Derby from post No. 17 was Don’t Get Mad, who finished fourth in 2005.

The post position with the highest percentage of top-three finishes in the Kentucky Derby since 1930 is the No. 10 post, which has had 26 horses finish in the money from 89 starters. This means 29.2% of Derby horses since 1930 who have started from post No. 10 have finished in the top three.

Horses who have started from the No. 2 post since 1930 have finished in the money 27.1% of the time.

Albus, who has 30-1 morning-line odds, has the No. 2 post in this year’s race. He is one of two runners this year for first-time Derby trainer Riley Mott.

This story was originally published April 29, 2026 at 3:00 AM with the headline "What’s the best post position to have in the 2026 Kentucky Derby?."

Cameron Drummond

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-242-5257

Cameron Drummond works as a sports reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader with a focus on Kentucky men’s basketball recruiting and the UK men’s basketball team, horse racing, soccer and other sports in Central Kentucky. Drummond is a second-generation American who was born and raised in Texas, before graduating from Indiana University. He is a fluent Spanish speaker who previously worked as a community news reporter in Austin, Texas. Support my work with a digital subscription