THE KENTUCKY DERBY : Demons Begone Gets No. 10 Spot : Winner of the Arkansas Derby Is Made a 5-2 Favorite

LOUISVILLE, Ky. —  Demons Begone, winner of the Arkansas Derby and undefeated this year, drew the No. 10 post position Thursday for Saturday’s 113th Kentucky Derby and was installed as the lukewarm 5-2 favorite for the $793,600 race.

Although Demons Begone, who is expected to be running in the middle of the pack during the early going, should not be handicapped by his post, two other Derby contenders were not as fortunate.

Cryptoclearance, winner of the Florida Derby and listed at 5-1 by Mike Battaglia, the linemaker for Churchill Downs, is in the No. 1 spot and Bet Twice, beaten at 7-10 in the Florida Derby and 6-1 for Saturday, drew No. 14 in the 17-horse field.

Ferdinand won the Kentucky Derby last year from the inside post, but he was the first horse to do so in 23 years. Bet Twice, who will probably be near Demons Begone or even closer to the pace in the first stages, may have to be used early to get position as the horses make their long run down the stretch the first time before reaching the clubhouse turn.

“The only spots I didn’t want were the first two,” said Flint (Scotty) Schulhofer, who trains Cryptoclearance. “I wanted to be in the middle. “But the race is a mile and a quarter and that’s an awful long way to find someplace to go.”

The entry of Gulch, winner of the Wood Memorial, and Leo Castelli, probable winner of the Blue Grass at Keeneland last week before he was fouled in the stretch by Alysheba, is the second choice at 4-1.

Good news followed good news Thursday for the owners and trainer of Masterful Advocate. After the 3-year-old colt worked a sharp half mile in 46 seconds, he drew the No. 7 post.

Trainer Joe Manzi said before the draw that he would have been happy with any post between 2 and 10.

Masterful Advocate’s morning-line price is 6-1. “I think we’ll be lower than that by race time,” said Harry Belles, who leases Masterful Advocate from Manzi, his son-in-law, and races him in a partnership with David Leveton, a Century City attorney.

There were no surprises at entry time. Here is the field, in post-position order with jockeys and odds:

Cryptoclearance, Jose Santos, 5-1; War, Herb McCauley, 8-1; Alysheba, Chris McCarron, 6-1; Templar Hill, Greg Hutton, 30-1; Capote, Angel Cordero, 8-1; Gulch, Bill Shoemaker, 4-1; Masterful Advocate, Laffit Pincay, 6-1; Leo Castelli, Jacinto Vasquez, 4-1; On the Line, Gary Stevens, 8-1; Demons Begone, Pat Day, 5-2; Momentus, Don Brumfield, 30-1; Candi’s Gold, Sandy Hawley, 50-1; Shawklit Won, Richard Migliore, 20-1; Bet Twice, Craig Perret, 6-1; Conquistarose, Jerry Bailey, 30-1; Avies Copy, Mickey Solomone, 30-1; and No More Flowers, Walter Guerra, 50-1.

War, Capote and On the Line will be combined in the betting, and so will the entry of Gulch and Leo Castelli. Templar Hill, Momentus and Avies Copy have been designated as mutuel-field horses, which means that one bet covers all three.

All of the horses will carry 126 pounds, with the winner getting a record $618,600. The forecast is for sunshine and 80-degree weather.

THE KENTUCKY DERBY FIELD

PP Horse Jockey Odds 1 Cryptoclearance Jose Santos 5-1 2 a-War Herb McCauley 8-1 3 Alysheba Chris McCarron 6-1 4 f-Templar Hill Greg Hutton 30-1 5 a-Capote Angel Cordero 8-1 6 b-Gulch Bill Shoemaker 4-1 7 Masterful Advocate Laffit Pincay 6-1 8 b-Leo Castelli Jacinto Vasquez 4-1 9 a-On the Line Gary Stevens 8-1 10 Demons Begone Pat Day 5-2 11 f-Momentus Don Brumfield 30-1 12 Candi’s Gold Sandy Hawley 50-1 13 Shawklit Won Richard Migliore 20-1 14 Bet Twice Craig Perret 6-1 15 Conquistarose Jerry Bailey 30-1 16 f-Avies Copy Mickey Solomone 30-1 17 No More Flowers Walter Guerra 50-1

a-Wayne Lukas trained entry

b-LeRoy Jolley trained entry

f-mutuel field

TRAINERS (by post position): 1. F. Scott Schulhofer; 2. Wayne Lukas; 3. Jack Van Berg; 4. Paul Seefeldt; 5. Wayne Lukas; 6. LeRoy Jolley; 7. Joe Manzi; 8. LeRoy Jolley; 9. Wayne Lukas; 10. Phil Hauswald; 11. Wallace Dollase; 12. Edward Gregson;. 13. Frank LaBoccetta; 14. Jim Croll, Jr; 15. Woody Stephens; 16. Dave Kassen; 17. Happy Alter.

OWNERS (by post position): 1. Philip Teinowitz; 2. Tom Gentry; 3. Dorothy and Pamela Scharbauer; 4. Ervin, Joseph, Jack and Ronald Kowitz; 5. Barry Beal, R.R. French and Eugene V. Klein; 6. Peter M. Brant; 7. Harry J. Belles and Dave Leveton; 8. Peter M. Brant. 9. Eugene V. Klein; 10. Loblolly Stable; 11. Wallace Dollase, Vern Winchell, Fred Duckett, Sherwood Cillingsworth, and Richard Dick; 12. David and Elizabeth Whelan; 13. Edward Anchel; 14. Blanch and Robert Levy, and Cisley Stable; 15. Henryk de Kwiatkowski; 16. Brown Badgett; 17. Arthur I. Appleton.

WEIGHTS: 126 pounds each. DISTANCE: 1 miles. PURSE: $793,600 if 17 start. First place: $618,600. Second place: $100,000. Third place: $50,000. Fourth place: $25,000. POST TIME: 2:38 p.m., PDT; TV: Channels 7 and 10. RADIO: KABC.