Sierra with jockey Tyler Gaffalione (2), Forever Young with jockey Ryusei Sakai and Mi Mystik Dan crosses the finish line at Churchill Downs with jockey Brian Hernandez Jr.
Kiichiro Sato/Associated Press
hide title
Switch title
Kiichiro Sato/Associated Press
Sierra with jockey Tyler Gaffalione (2), Forever Young with jockey Ryusei Sakai and Mi Mystik Dan crosses the finish line at Churchill Downs with jockey Brian Hernandez Jr.
Kiichiro Sato/Associated Press
In the end, Mystik Dan narrowly defeated Sierra Leone to win the Kentucky Derby.
In the seconds before the official decision was made, the contestants held their breath. The thoroughbred entered the race at odds of 18/1 – a long shot compared with favorite Fierce’s odds of 3/1.
On Saturday, Mystik Dan coach Ken McPeek became the first trainer since 1952 to win the Kentucky Oaks and Derby in the same year, NBC reported. It was jockey Brian Hernandez’s first Derby win. The pair had won the Oaks a day earlier on a dirt track with the mare Sopedo Anna.
McPeak praised the jockey for his win.
“Brian was awesome,” he told NBC Sports during the post-race broadcast. “Probably one of the most underrated drivers in racing, but not anymore, right?”
For Hernandez, winning the derby has been a dream he has had since he was 6 years old.
“This is a lifetime achievement,” he said. “To be able to live out this dream – when I was a 6-year-old kid, riding my bike around my grandparents’ farm and telling them I was going to run in the Kentucky Derby one day – and here we are.”
Forever Young finished third, behind Sierra Leone.
The weather conditions were good for the 150th race on Saturday. America’s longest-running sporting event comes after changes aimed at purifying the sport.
Multiple scandals have plagued the racing industry in recent years, including a sudden rise in horse deaths and doping allegations. More than two dozen people have been charged in 2020 in horse racing doping cases. Last year, Churchill Downs came under closer scrutiny after 12 horses died on the track in one month.
About a year later, multiple investigations found no connection between the deaths, member station Louisville Public Media reported.
Generally speaking, this sport is dangerous for horses. According to Jockey Club statistics, 336 horses died from racing-related injuries last year.
In response to allegations of doping and abuse, Congress in 2021 approved the establishment of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, which aims to develop national standards that regulate the sport.
The federal agency implemented new anti-doping rules at Churchill Downs this year. HISA chief executive Lisa Lazarus told LPM this week the horses had been tested repeatedly.
“If they play in the derby, it means they don’t have any problems with our plans,” she said.
