Owner Prince Ahmed Salman (left) and trainer Bob Baffert discuss their post selection for Derby favorite Point Given during Wednesday's post position draw at Churchill Downs.

Bob Baffert, the trainer of Point Given, and Prince Ahmed Salman, whose The Thoroughbred Corporation owns Point Given, had few options when selecting a post, since Point Given had the 14th pick. They could have taken 17, or one of the three inside posts.

Baffert landed a far more desirous post - eight - for his other entrant, Congaree, whose selection came second.

With a field of 17, Churchill Downs will have to use two gates to accommodate all the 3-year-old runners for the 1 1/4-mile classic. The main gate will hold 14, with three in the auxiliary gate. If all 17 start, the purse will be $1,112,000, with $812,000 going to the winner.

The draw is a two-step process. First comes what was supposed to be a traditional draw, in which entry cards are selected simultaneously with numbered pills.

This year, however, it was obvious the deck of entry cards was cut once. So, when the entry cards were pulled, the names were selected in reverse alphabetical order, beginning with Monarchos, though the pills came out in random order. That, however, merely determined the order in which trainers or owners picked their horse's posts, which followed.

A P Valentine had the first selection. Trainer Nick Zito, who made the selection, took post nine, saying it was inspired by both his and co-owner Rick Pitino's passion for the New York Yankees. "We wanted seven or nine. We took nine, for Roger Maris," Zito said.

The trainers began by picking toward the middle of the gate, then focused toward the outside. Jim Cassidy, a first-time Derby trainer, showed wisdom by picking post 15 for the longshot Jamaican Rum. He is the first horse in the auxiliary gate, and there is a large gap between posts 14 and 15 because of the positioning of the two gates, giving Jamaican Rum room to break cleanly. Speed horses ended up with the three inside posts. Songandaprayer, Millennium Wind, and Balto Star (in that order) are stuck inside. Their proximity could produce a sharp pace, since they will have to get out quickly to avoid getting trapped early.

The other speed horse, Keats, took post 14.