 |
| An impressive ride by Velazquez lead to Animal Kingdom becoming the 137th winner of the Kentucky Derby. (Robert Carr/Getty Images) |
Animal Kingdom defied it's 20-1 odds and won the Derby by two and three quarter lengths. Animal Kingdom had only been ran in four races prior to the Derby, never running on a dirt track. Jockey John Velazquez was making his thirteenth derby mount and had never been successful of crossing the finish line first. In fact, Velazquez was not even suppose to ride Animal Kingdom in this years Derby. Velazquez was scheduled to ride the early three-year old favorite, Uncle Mo. Although Uncle Mo had been experiencing ongoing internal health issues and was scratched from the race, leaving Velazquez without a mount. It was the third time in as many years Velazquez was scheduled to be on the favorite or near favorite in the Derby only to be scratched. Fate then took over.
Jockey Robby Albarado was the original scheduled jockey to ride Animal Kingdom in Louisville this weekend, but after suffering a broken nose, his availability for the Derby was put in doubt. It would be later determined that Albarado would be unable to participate in the 137th running of the Kentucky Derby. Velazquez was quickly named the replacement by owner Barry Irwin and boy it was a good one. Animal Kingdom was coming off a six week layoff and with the colts four career starts prior to this years Derby, it was a long shot. The last horse to win the Derby with only four career starts happened almost a century ago in 1918 with Exterminator. Talk about a horse of destiny if there ever was one.
Three-time Kentucky Derby Champion, Calvin Borel was going for his third straight Derby victory and become the only jockey in history to win his fourth in five years. Borel is manly remembered for his daring and unforgettable finish on Mine That Bird in '09 when he took a 50-1 long shot and made him a winner, by riding the rail all the way home. Borel finished 10th in this years Derby on Edward Brown Jr.'s Twice The Appeal. Borel was trying to tie the legendary William "Bill" Shoemaker as only the fourth jockey to win four Kentucky Derbies. Eddie Arcaro and Bill Hartack have each one the Derby five times which is the most by any jockey in history.
Jockey Rosie Napravnik was the sixth woman to land a mount in the Kentucky Derby and was trying to become the first in the winners circle. Napravnik fell short on Pants On Fire, finishing ninth on the afternoon, which was the best finish by a woman in the derby, one place in front of Borel. Nehro and Mucho Macho Man were both 9-1 in this years derby and finished second and third respectively. The 5-1 favorite Dialed In finished eighth. Animal Kingdoms 2:02:04 time around the track was the fastest time since Big Brown's 2:01:82 back in '08 with Kent Desomeaux through the stir ups. In his first calling of the Kentucky Derby NBC's Larry Collmus final call sounded like this, "Animal Kingdom roaring down the center of the track, Here comes Animal Kingdom in the middle of the race track to grab the lead, and then it's Nehro and Shackleford, but it's Animal Kingdom and John Velazquez to win the DERBY!!".
It has been said to be most exciting two minutes in the world of sports. There was a lot of history on the line in Louisville, Kentucky Saturday afternoon, but in a wide open field and record setting crowd of 164,858 at Churchill Downs the 20-1 Animal Kingdom shocked most by becoming the 137th winner of the Kentucky Derby. Now comes the daunting task of trying to complete the Triple Crown with the round two at the Preakness Stakes in Balitmore, Maryland on May 21st. Big Brown became the 21st horse in history to win both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, but fali to win the Belmont. Animal Kingdom looks add to mystic and make history this horse racing season.
No comments:
Post a Comment