[ad_1]
In a tightly contested race, Mystik Dan (18-1) claimed victory in the 150th Kentucky Derby on Saturday amid a photo finish. Notably, this is the first time in 28 years, and only the tenth time ever, that the Kentucky Derby was won by a nose.
Until the ¾-mile mark, Track Phantom (41-1) and Just Steel (21-1) were leading the race, with Fierceness, the pre-race 3-1 favorite, holding third place. Mystik Dan, however, persistently pursued them from the inside.
Ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., Mystik Dan broke away from the pack after the final turn, taking over the lead. Fierceness fell behind significantly after the turn. Mystik Dan stretched his lead to several lengths in the final stretch. However, Sierra Leone (9-2), the second-most favored horse, gained pace from the outside, which nudged Japanese horse Forever Young towards the railing.
In the end, it was Mystik Dan that first crossed the line by a whisker. Sierra Leone came in second, followed by Forever Young, while Fierceness was a distant 15th, lagging by 24½ lengths.
This year’s race witnessed less controversy compared to the previous year’s event during which a dozen horses tragically died at Churchill Downs leading up to the race. Bob Baffert, the Hall of Fame trainer, was conspicuously absent from this year’s race due to the extension of his two-year ban through 2024. As a result, this is the third straight Kentucky Derby without a Baffert-trained horse. Baffert’s ban came after Medina Spirit, the 2021 Kentucky Derby winner trained by him, was stripped of his title for a positive drug test after the race. Baffert had been a six-time winner at the Derby.
Mystik Dan will now set his sights on the Triple Crown with the Preakness Stakes at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course scheduled for May 18.
[ad_2]
