The horse racing schedule is about to ramp up with Triple Crown season right around the corner. That will begin with the 2024 edition of the Kentucky Derby, which is set to take place next Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville.

The 150th running of the event has a post draw time of 6:57 p.m. ET that night.

Typically, post positions aren’t drawn until the Monday of Derby week. However, they’ve already been set, as the draw occurred Saturday.

2024 Kentucky Derby Post Positions, Odds

4. Catching Freedom (8-1)

15. Domestic Product (30-1)

16. Grand Mo the First (50-1)

Fierceness has been the favorite to win the Kentucky Derby in the early leadup to the race, and that didn’t change after he drew the No. 17 post. That’s never been a favorable starting spot, though, as no previous Derby champion began at No. 17.

It’s the only starting post that has never produced a Kentucky Derby winner.

Perhaps that changes with Fierceness, a Todd Pletcher-trained colt who has won three of his first five races. Fierceness is coming off a win at the Florida Derby on March 30, when he edged fellow Kentucky Derby competitors Catalytic (30-1) and Grand Mo the First (50-1).

Pletcher is a two-time Kentucky Derby winner, having previously won with Super Saver (2010) and Always Dreaming (2017). If Pletcher is victorious with Fierceness, he’ll have three Derby crowns, each seven years apart.

Fierceness’ top challenger will likely be Sierra Leone (3-1), who is starting from the No. 2 post. That spot has produced seven previous Derby champions, although none since Affirmed in 1978.

A Chad Brown-trained colt, Sierra Leone owns three wins and one second-place finish in four career races. He is coming off a victory at the Blue Grass Stakes in early April.

Brown has won two previous Preakness Stakes titles, but he’s never had a horse cross the line first at the Kentucky Derby. Sierra Leone has the potential to give Brown his first Derby championship.

A few sleepers to keep an eye on ahead of the Kentucky Derby are Honor Marie (20-1), Mystik Dan (20-1) and Resilience (20-1).

Honor Marie finished second to Catching Freedom at the Louisiana Derby in March and has placed second or better in four of his five career races. Mystik Dan is less accomplished, but he finished third at the Arkansas Derby last month and owns two victories in six races.

Meanwhile, Resilience has built strong momentum toward the Kentucky Derby, having won two of his past three races. The colt is coming off a strong win at the Wood Memorial Stakes.

Betting lines will continue to shift throughout the week, so there’s plenty of time to think things over before placing a wager on this year’s Kentucky Derby.