In an extraordinary photo finish, Mystik Dan emerged victorious at the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby Saturday evening at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Mystik Dan entered the 20-horse race with 18-1 odds.
Mystik Dan will earn $3.1 million from a total purse of $5 million, the largest purse in the race's history. The purse will be split among the top five finishers in the Derby, with $3.1 million for the winner, $1 million for the runner-up, $500,000 for third place, $250,000 for fourth place and $150,000 for fifth place.
Mystik Dan and jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. rode the rail down the stretch with a short lead. Forever Young from Japan and Sierra Leone gave chase and pressured the leader to the wire in front of 156,710 at Churchill Downs.
The crowd waited several minutes before the result was reviewed by the stewards and declared official.
Hernandez and trainer Kenny McPeek had teamed to win the Kentucky Oaks for fillies on Friday with Thorpedo Anna.
Mystik Dan ran 1 1/4 miles in 2:03.34 and paid $39.22 to win. Sierra Leone returned $6.54 and $4.64. Forever Young was another nose back in third and paid $5.58 to show. Sierra Leone lugged in and bumped Forever Young three times in the stretch, but jockey Ryusei Sakai didn't claim foul.
Alex Sundby contributed reporting.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
