Analysis: Known Agenda to start, and finish, No. 1 in Derby

Starting No. 1 in the Kentucky Derby usually equates to not finishing No. 1. The inside post is a dreaded starting position in the Run for the Roses. The horse can’t veer much to its left at the start because there’s a rail there. The horse can’t veer much to its right either, because there’s a wall of about 25,000 pounds worth of fellow hard-charging thoroughbreds there. Without a perfect break from the starting gate, the horse in the No. 1 post can see its Derby chances vanish in just a few seconds. This is the predicament that Known Agenda will have to deal with on Saturday in the Kentucky Derby. The Florida Derby winner has one of the world’s top trainers in Todd Pletcher, one of the world’s top riders in Irad Ortiz Jr., and is going to be written off by many bettors simply because he’s starting from a post where no Kentucky Derby starter has won in 35 years.