A full field of 20 horses took the track at Churchill Downs for the 142nd running of the Kentucky Derby in Louisville. The unbeaten Nyquist was the clear 2-1 favorite before the race began and that held true as he won the Derby in a time of 2:01.31. Nyquist took the lead coming around the final turn and then held off a late charge from Exaggerator down the stretch. Jockey Mario Gutierrez won his second Derby after crossing the finish line first with I’ll Have Another and trainer Doug O’Neill back in 2012.
Here’s the video of the finish:
Nyquist, Gutierrez, and O’Neill now go to the 141st Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore in search of the second leg of the Triple Crown. Four years ago Gutierrez and O’Neill won both the Derby and the Preakness before I’ll Have Another had to withdraw from the Belmont due to injury.
Last year American Pharoah became the first horse since Affirmed in 1978 to complete horse racing’s greatest achievement. Affirmed won the Triple Crown a year after Seattle Slew did it in 1977. If you think the stars might be aligning for Nyquist, the horse is the first unbeaten winner of the Kentucky Derby since… Seattle Slew. Given how strong Nyquist looked in the Derby, he definitely has a great chance.
