Mystik Dan as a live longshot to win last year, reveals his 2025 Kentucky Derby bets and 2025 Kentucky Derby betting strategy for Churchill Downs

You get a lot of “War-Something” names in Kentucky Derby history. We had War Cloud in 1918 and War Emblem in 2002, for example. Both go hard. But War Admiral has the most gravitas by far—both because he won the Triple Crown in 1937 and because his name commanded such immense respect.

Post position matters quite a bit at the Kentucky Derby. Horses in the earlier post positions have traditionally performed better than horses in the later post positions at the event. The fifth post position has resulted in the most wins at the Kentucky Derby, with 10 horses winning from that slot during the race's history.