LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Zandon drew post 10 and was made the 3-1 morning-line favorite, and Epicenter landed post 3 and was installed the second choice at 7-2, as a full field of 20, plus two also-eligibles, had posts assigned Monday afternoon at Churchill Downs for the 148th Kentucky Derby on Saturday. Both Zandon, the Blue Grass Stakes winner, and Epicenter, the Louisiana Derby winner, had separated themselves from their rivals in public sentiment over the past few weeks. Mike Battaglia, who makes the line at Churchill Downs, ended up siding ever so slightly with Zandon, mirroring Daily Racing Form’s Marty McGee, who has had Zandon atop the Derby Watch top 20 since the Blue Grass and made him the 4-1 favorite, with Epicenter next at 5-1. Chad Brown, who trains the late-running Zandon, called 10 a “really good post” for his colt and jockey Flavien Prat. “It gives my jockey options,” Brown said. “But the horse still needs to break. There’s some speed inside, and some speed outside.” Epicenter, who is always forwardly placed, will have to leave alertly under Joel Rosario from an inside draw. His trainer, Steve Asmussen, said he’d have “felt better in the middle,” but pointed out that any post can cause problems depending not only on how a horse breaks, but the behavior of those in adjacent stalls. “You don’t know what posts to complain about until after the race is run,” he said. What Asmussen said will be paramount is Epicenter getting away well enough to settle into the high-cruising rhythm that propelled him to victories in both the Risen Star and Louisiana Derby. Messier is the third choice on Battaglia’s line, at 8-1, with Mo Donegal and White Abarrio the co-fourth choices at 10-1. McGee also has Messier the third choice at 8-1, with Mo Donegal, Taiba, and White Abarrio all at 10-1. The 20 horses in recent years have been loaded in a single gate, replacing a system where a main gate of 14 stalls, and an auxiliary gate of an additional six stalls, was used. The width of the old configuration often made it challenging for horses inside, something trainer Todd Pletcher referenced owing to his Mo Donegal landing the rail with Irad Ortiz Jr. :: DRF has you covered! Get everything you need to win big on Derby Day with a Kentucky Derby Package and get up to 41% off retail price. “If you break and you run straight you’re okay,” Pletcher said. “You’d run into the rail if you went straight with the old gate system.” Mo Donegal broke from the inside and came running late to win the Wood Memorial in his last start. “He’s the type of horse that could potentially benefit from an inside draw,” Pletcher said. “He took the kickback in the Wood. It didn’t faze him.” Pletcher has two other entrants – Charge It, who got post 8, and Pioneer of Medina, who is in post 11. :: Kentucky Derby Headquarters: Get the latest news, info on contenders, past performances, picks, and more  Brad Cox also has three entrants, and they all are toward the outside. His best chance, Cyberknife, is in post 16, with Tawny Port in 18 and Zozos 19. "I like it,” Cox said of Cyberknife’s draw. “He shouldn’t have to stand in the gate long.” The Derby is double loaded, with posts 1 and 11 going in first, and horses paired until 10 and 20 are the last to load. Kenny McPeek has two entrants. Smile Happy got post 5, Tiz the Bomb 9. Tim Yakteen’s two entrants, Messier and Taiba, got posts 6 and 12, respectively. Both should be forwardly placed. Also figuring to be prominent early, if not vying for the lead, are Classic Causeway, who goes from post 17, and Summer Is Tomorrow, who starts from post 4, just outside Epicenter. Rich Strike and Rattle N Roll are on the also-eligible list, in that order. They have until 9 a.m. Friday to scratch in. The Derby will be race 12 on a 14-race card that begins at 10:30 a.m. Eastern. The listed post time is 6:57 p.m., but take the overs. With a full field of 20, the purse is $3 million, with $1.86 million going to the winner. The Kentucky Derby field, in post position order, with riders and Battaglia's morning-line odds: 1. Mo Donegal, I. Ortiz, 10-1 2. Happy Jack, R. Bejarano, 30-1 3. Epicenter, J. Rosario, 7-2 4. Summer Is Tomorrow, M. Barzalona, 30-1 5. Smile Happy, C. Lanerie, 20-1 6. Messier, J. Velazquez, 8-1 7. Crown Pride, C. Lemaire, 20-1 8. Charge It, L. Saez, 20-1 9. Tiz the Bomb, B. Hernandez, 30-1 10. Zandon, F. Prat, 3-1 11. Pioneer of Medina, J. Bravo, 30-1 12. Taiba, M. Smith, 12-1 13. Simplification, J. Ortiz, 20-1 14. Barber Road, R. Gutierrez, 30-1 15. White Abarrio, T. Gaffalione, 10-1 16. Cyberknife, F. Geroux, 20-1 17. Classic Causeway, J. Leparoux, 30-1 18. Tawny Port, R. Santana, 30-1 19. Zozos, M. Franco, 20-1 20. Ethereal Road, L. Contreras, 30-1 AE - Rich Strike, S. Leon, 30-1 AE - Rattle N Roll, J. Graham, 30-1