Returning to Churchill after serving his three-year ban, six-time Derby winner Bob Baffert notably drew the rail with his athlete Citizen Bull at Churchill Downs’ post position soiree Saturday evening, and his arguably stronger entry, Rodriguez, was slotted just three stalls to the right, square in the four-hole. Both are talented horses, but they will be served the full Derby experience of having a ton of traffic to deal with pretty much instantly, next Saturday in Louisville.
The morning line favorite at 3-1, Journalism, trained by Michael McCarthy and ridden by Umberto Rispoli, has drawn the 8-hole in Churchill’s massive gate, with his nearest early-odds rivals, Sandman (6-1) and Sovereingty (5-1), booked into stalls 17 and 18, respectively. But before we dive into what those positions might offer those athletes, below, the full draw.
(Post Position, Horse, Trainer, Jockey, Morning Line)
1. Citizen Bull, Bob Baffert, Martin Garcia, 20-1
2. Neoequos, Saffie Joseph Jr., Flavien Prat, 30-1
3. Final Gambit, Brad Cox, Luan Machado, 30-1
4. Rodriguez, Bob Baffert, Mike Smith, 12-1
5. American Promise, D. Wayne Lukas, Nik Juarez, 30-1
6. Admire Daytona, Yukihiro Kato, Christophe Lemaire, 30-1
7. Luxor Café, Noriyuki Hori, Joao Moreira, 15-1
8. Journalism, Michael McCarthy, Umberto Rispoli, 3-1
9. Burnham Square, Ian Wilkes, Brian Hernandez Jr., 12-1
10. Grande, Todd Pletcher, John Velazquez, 20-1
11. Flying Mohawk, Whit Beckman, Joe Ramos, 30-1
12. East Avenue, Brendan Walsh, Manny Franco, 20-1
13. Publisher, Steve Asmussen, Irad Ortiz Jr., 20-1
14. Tiztastic, Steve Asmussen, Joel Rosario, 20-1
15. Render Judgment, Kenny McPeek, Julien Leparoux, 30-1
16. Coal Battle, Lonnie Briley, Juan Vargas, 30-1
17. Sandman, Mark Casse, Jose Ortiz, 6-1
18. Sovereignty, Bill Mott, Junior Alvarado, 5-1
19. Chunk of Gold, Ethan West, Jareth Loveberry, 30-1
20. Owen Almighty, Brian Lynch, Javier Castellano, 30-1
Also eligible
21. Baeza, John Shirreffs, Flavien Prat, 12-1
(Source: Churchill Downs, 4/26/2025)