KENTUCKY DERBY NOTEBOOK: LOCALS IN FAVORED STATE.

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI Staff Writer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - California horses are getting a little more respect before the Kentucky Derby this year.

That became official Wednesday when Brother Derek was named the morning-line favorite for Saturday's race despite landing a post position near the outside of the 20-horse starting gate, and four of the other five California-trained entrants were given odds in the top half of the field.

It's different from 2005, when the Santa Anita Derby was widely viewed as a weak prep - until Giacomo won the Kentucky Derby at 50-1 odds to lead a 1-4-5-6 finish by the top Californians.

"I think the California horses were very strong this year," Mike Battaglia, who writes the Churchill Downs morning line, said after the late-afternoon post-position draw ceremony at a downtown entertainment complex.

"He (Brother Derek) won impressively (in the Santa Anita Derby), and I decided after that."

Brother Derek is 3-1 on the line. Florida Derby winner Barbaro is 4-1, and Arkansas Derby winner Lawyer Ron also is 4-1, although Battaglia indicated Barbaro will be listed as second choice in the track program.

The other California products: Sinister Minister, 12-1; Bob and John, 12-1; Point Determined, 12-1; A.P. Warrior, 15-1, and Cause to Believe, 50-1.

Brother Derek has post 18 for the 1 1/4-mile race, which, if there are no scratches, will be the second Derby since 1984 to hit the 20-horse limit.

Lawyer Ron is immediately to his inside in No. 17, Barbaro in No. 8.

Only one winner, Gato del Sol in 1982, has come from post 18 in the 23 Derbies with at least that many starters.

Derby post positions were "drafted" by owners and trainers Wednesday after the selection order was determined by random draw. Brother Derek received the 16th selection, and by the time trainer Dan Hendricks and owner Cecil Peacock picked, only posts 1, 3, and 18-20 were open.

Peacock carried the placard representing Brother Derek to the board and hung it on hook No. 18.

"We want to be outside, where it's clear," Hendricks said of Brother Derek, expected to be among the front-runners. "We won't have to use him (to gain early position) the way we would if we were on the inside."

Sinister Minister, the likely front-runner, will break from post 4.

A.P. Warrior's handlers had the first draft pick, and John Shirreffs went with post 10, from which the trainer won with Giacomo. Showing Up came four picks later, and trainer Barclay Tagg copied Shirreffs' thinking in going with post 6, from which the trainer won with Funny Cide in 2003.

Zero for Zito: After having five horses in the 2005 Derby, trainer Nick Zito won't have a runner Saturday. Zito won the race with Strike the Gold in 1991 and Go for Gin in 1994, but only one of his 16 starters since then has finished as high as fourth.

Zito entered George Steinbrenner-owned Hemingway's Key, but the colt lacked the graded-stakes earnings to crack the 20-horse field, as did Sunriver and Lewis Michael.

Four-time winner D. Wayne Lukas will watch the Derby as a non-participant for only the third time since 1980.

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KENTUCKY DERBY LINEUP