Harlan's Holiday is Derby favorite

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - Edgar Prado isn&#39;t just responsible for riding Harlan&#39;s Holiday in the Kentucky Derby. The jockey also got to pick the colt&#39;s post position. <br> <br> Usually that decision would be made by trainer Ken McPeek, but he left it to Prado, who selected the No. 14 post for Saturday&#39;s race. That&#39;s the final spot in the main gate. <br> <br> ``We wanted to make him happy, and whatever he was comfortable with is what we were comfortable with,&#39;&#39; McPeek said. ``He wanted the opening on his outside. Hopefully, there&#39;s no scratches on his inside.&#34;<br> <br> Harlan&#39;s Holiday, with six wins and four seconds in 10 career starts, was a slight 9-2 favorite over Came Home and Buddha. They were both 5-1 in the morning line set Wednesday night by Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia. <br> <br> Harlan&#39;s Holiday is the highest morning-line favorite since the line was first published in 1949. <br> <br> ``This is going to be a great betting race,&#39;&#39; Battaglia said. ``This is going to be a very contentious field. With 20 betting interests, one horse isn&#39;t going to be bet down by a lot of support.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Harlan&#39;s Holiday is coming off victories in the Florida Derby and Blue Grass Stakes. <br> <br> ``I&#39;ve got a lot of horse left,&#39;&#39; McPeek said. ``He&#39;s been great up to now, and he seems to be maintaining. We&#39;re real confident.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> A full field of 20 horses will compete for the first time since 1984. In 1996 and &#39;99, 20 were entered but not all started. <br> <br> Came Home has won six of seven, including the Santa Anita Derby, and lightly raced Buddha has a three-race winning streak after his victory in the Wood Memorial. <br> <br> Came Home, with Chris McCarron aboard, will leave from the No. 15 post, while Buddha, with trainer H. James Bond making the first selection in the draw, went for the No. 10 gate. <br> <br> ``We took 15 because we&#39;d rather be on the outside than inside,&#39;&#39; Came Home&#39;s trainer Paco Gonzalez said. ``This horse has tactical speed, so he&#39;ll be able to get a position into the first turn, hopefully.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Irish-based Johannesburg and Wood runner-up Medaglia d&#39;Oro were co-third picks at 6-1. <br> <br> Johannesburg, who will be ridden by Gary Stevens, was the 2-year-old champion after winning all seven races last year, capped by the Breeders&#39; Cup Juvenile in October. He was beaten by a 4-year-old filly in his only race this year in Ireland. <br> <br> Medaglia d&#39;Oro, with trainer Bobby Frankel choosing second, went for the No. 9 post, just inside Buddha. Stevens, with several other posts available, went for the No. 1 gate. <br> <br> Stevens learned he would ride the Aidan O&#39;Brien-trained Johannesburg earlier Wednesday, once it was determined his other contender, Sunday Break, did not have enough graded-stakes earnings to qualify. <br> <br> With more than 20 contenders, the Derby field was decided by who had earned the most money. <br> <br> ``It was a relief to get a mount like Johannesburg after my other chances fell through,&#39;&#39; Stevens said. ``There&#39;s a certain way Aidan wants him ridden, and that&#39;s part of our strategy.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> After the first five 3-year-olds, the odds soared, with Sheik Mohammed&#39;s Essence of Dubai, Saarland and Perfect Drift each at 15-1. <br> <br> The field, from the rail out, with odds: Johannesburg (6-1), Wild Horses (50-1), Perfect Drift (15-1), Lusty Latin (30-1), War Emblem (20-1), Ocean Sound (50-1), Request for Parole (20-1), Essence of Dubai (15-1), Medaglia d&#39;Oro (6-1), Buddha (5-1), Private Emblem (20-1), Castle Gandolfo (20-1), Proud Citizen (30-1), Harlan&#39;s Holiday (9-2), Came Home (5-1), Saarland (15-1), Danthebluegrassman (50-1), It&#39;sallinthechase (50-1), Easy Grades (20-1) and Blue Burner (30-1). <br> <br> The biggest surprise was trainer Bob Baffert&#39;s decision to enter Danthebluegrassman for owner Mike Pegram, whose Real Quiet won the 1998 Derby. Eighth in the Santa Anita Derby, Danthebluegrassman worked well enough at Churchill Downs to earn a shot. He&#39;s in post No. 17 at odds of 50-1. <br> <br> ``Mike&#39;s the kind of a guy who likes to take a chance,&#39;&#39; Baffert said. ``A lot of my second stringers wound up beating my first stringers.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Baffert now has two Derby starters. War Emblem, purchased for him by Prince Ahmed Salman after the colt won the Illinois Derby, will leave from the No. 5 post at odds of 20-1. <br> <br> Among those who didn&#39;t make the field were Windward Passage - bumped by Danthebluegrassman - Straight Gin, Sunday Break and U S S Tinosa. <br> <br> If all 20 run Saturday, the Derby will have a record purse of $1,205,000, with $905,000 to the winner.