Kentucky Derby Favorite Essential Quality Draws No. 14 Post

• Essential Quality is a +200 favorite in the 2021 Kentucky Derby after drawing the No. 14 post
• Rock Your World (+500) and Known Agenda (+600) drew Nos. 15 and 9, respectively
• 2021 Kentucky Derby will be the first without any horses in the field using Lasix, a performance-enhancing drug

The 2021 edition of the Kentucky Derby will be held on the first Saturday in May. Last year’s version was postponed until September 5 due to the pandemic, but this year the world’s premier horse race will be back where it belongs.

On Tuesday, Derby favorite Essential Quality drew the No. 14 post ahead of Saturday’s event. The thoroughbred is currently listed as a +200 favorite at most Kentucky Derby betting sites. Rock Your World, who owns the second-best odds to win the Kentucky Derby at +500, drew the No. 15 slot. Known Agenda (+600) remains third-favorite despite drawing the spot closest to the rail. Hot Rod Charlie is at +800 out of the No. 9 starting position.

The race is expected to draw 45,000 spectators this year after being held behind closed doors last September. That 45,000 number is still a far cry from the Churchill Downs capacity of 165,000, but it’s still a sign that things are beginning to return to normal.

Essential Quality’s Unbeaten Record

Essential Quality is favored after a promising 5-0 start to his career. The two-year-old became the favorite following a stirring Blue Grass win at Keeneland back in April. That triumph gave Essential Quality 140 points in qualifying and vaulted him to the top of the list of betting favorites heading into the Derby.

Essential Quality jogging before training pic.twitter.com/THWW9EZYy9

— Daily Racing Form (@DRFInsidePost) April 26, 2021

Essential Quality’s owner, Brad Cox, has two horses in the field on Saturday. Mandaloun (+1500) is his other entry out of the No. 7 spot. If either Essential Quality or Mandaloun wins the race, Cox will become the first Louisville native to ever win the main event.

Todd Pletcher has four horses in the field, led by the aforementioned Known Agenda. Pletcher will also have Dynamic One (+2000), Sainthood (+5000), and Bourbonic (+2000) in the race. Known Agenda has won three races overall, including victories in two of his three starts to begin the current season. The three-year-old also has second-and third-place finishes on his resume heading into Derby Day.

• Hot Rod Charlie took home a win in the Louisiana Derby earlier this year by two full lengths, and enters the race second behind Essential Quality with 110 qualifying points.
• Rock Your World ran the first two races of his career at Santa Anita before breaking through with a win at the Pasadena Stakes. He then dominated the field with an easy win at the Santa Anita Derby earlier this year, trouncing Bob Baffert’s Medina Spirit in the process. However, the Derby will be Rock Your World’s first race outside of California.

Like the King (+5000), Brooklyn Strong (+5000), Keepmeinmind (+5000), O Besos (+2000), and Helium (+5000) are a few long shots to have cracked the 2021 field.

No Lasix For Participants

The 2021 edition of the Kentucky Derby will be the first running of the race without the horses having been medicated with the anti-bleeding drug, Lasix. Horse racing is attempting to keep the horses safer by banning race-day medication. Grindstone, who won the 1996 Kentucky Derby, was the last horse to win the race without the aid of Lasix, which has been credited with helping horses lose weight and run faster.

Churchill Downs did not award qualifying points for the Derby to any horse that used Lasix on race day. The Breeders’ Cup will be following suit in that regard. Doug O’Neill, the trainer of Hot Rod Charlie, said,

“The longer we’ve done it, the more I’ve been able to adjust. The horses have kept their form without it. They do seem to come out of the races with more energy, and they get back to their normal exercise energy quicker so they recover quicker without Lasix.”