LOUISVILLE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Mystik Dan, with jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. aboard, won the 150th Kentucky Derby on Saturday in a three-way photo finish, edging Sierra Leone and Forever Young at Churchill Downs in Kentucky.
Mystik Dan, which started out of the No. 3 post, squeezed through on the rail on the final turn, led throughout the stretch and just held off a charging Sierra Leone and Forever Young by a nose at the wire. Catching Freedom finished fourth.
At 18-1, Hernandez was able to capture his first Kentucky Derby after a short wait for the result to become official. Sierra Leone, the second favorite at 9-2, was ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, while Forever Young, the third favorite at 6-1, had Ryusei Sakai aboard.
Derby favorite Fierceness, at 3-1, finished 15th in the 20-horse field.
The second leg of the Triple Crown takes place May 18 with the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. The final leg is June 8 in the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, NY.
There have been 13 Triple Crown winners, with Justify the last in 2018.
–Field Level Media