Mystik Dan won the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, finishing in 2:03.34 on Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
The race came down to a photo finish, with Sierra Leone and Forever Young just inches behind.
“It was quite a rush to sit here and wait for it,” jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. said after it took a few minutes for Mystik Dan, who entered the race with 18-1 odds, to be declared the winner.
Trainer Kenny McPeek said Hernandez is “probably one of the most underrated riders in racing, but not anymore.”
Fierceness, the favorite in the race at 3-1 odds, finished 15th.
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With the victory, Mystik Dan is one-third of the way to earning the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, which has been done 13 times, but only twice in the last 45 years. The most recent winners are Justify and American Pharoah, who achieved the feat in 2018 and 2015, respectively.
Mystik Dan will continue the quest for the Triple Crown at the Preakness Stakes, scheduled for May 18 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.
