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.

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.

Some, like Renegade and Six Speed — who drew the No. 17 starting gate — will be cursing their luck.

The most recent horse to win the Derby from post position No. 1 was Ferdinand in 1986. No horse has ever won the Run for the Roses from the No. 17 post.

Others, like Right to Party, should feel bullish about their chances. Right to Party drew the No. 5 post, which has produced more winners (10) than any other starting gate in Kentucky Derby history.

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: Right to Party (30-1).

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: Commandment (6-1).

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: Danon Bourbon (20-1).

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: So Happy (15-1).

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: The Puma (10-1).

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: Wonder Dean (JPN) (30-1).

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: Incredibolt (20-1).

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: Chief Wallabee (8-1).

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: Silent Tactic (20-1).

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: Potente (20-1).

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: Emerging Market (15-1).

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: Pavlovian (30-1).

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: Six Speed (50-1).

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: Further Ado (6-1).

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: Golden Tempo (30-1).

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: Fulleffort (20-1).

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%.

Right to Party, who is trained by 2024 Derby-winning conditioner Kenny McPeek, holds the No. 5 post for the 2026 Derby. Right to Party has 30-1 morning-line odds. Jockey Chris Elliott will be making his Derby debut.

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 Fulleffort, a Brad Cox trainee with morning-line odds of 20-1. Cox won the 2021 Derby with Mandaloun, but that victory came following the disqualification of the Bob Baffert-trained Medina Spirit. Fulleffort’s jockey, Tyler Gaffalione, hasn’t won the Derby in seven previous mounts.

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 Wonder Dean (JPN), who is aiming to become the first Japan-born horse to win the Run for the Roses.

Six Speed 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.

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