American Pharoah wins 141st Kentucky Derby
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As good as advertised.
American Pharoah, who came to the 141st Kentucky Derby having won four consecutive races, including a monster effort in the Arkansas Derby on April 15, roared from just off the pace during the final eighth of a mile to beat Firing Line and second favorite Dortmund on Saturday at Churchill Downs.
Ridden by Victor Espinoza, American Pharoah covered 1 1/4 miles in 2:03.00 and gave trainer Bob Baffert his fourth Derby win but his first since 2002 with War Emblem.
American Pharoah, Firing Line and Dortmund clearly were the best horses in the field along with Dortmund, the other Baffert horse who tired in the final 100 yards.
The winner paid $7.80, $5.80 and $4.20.
The race attracted a Kentucky Derby record crowd of 170,513.
NOTES: Six stakes races set the stage for the Kentucky Derby. … In the 1-mile Pat Day Stakes, Competitive Edge, ridden by John Velazquez, improved to 4-0 lifetime, easily defeating long-shot Pain and Misery. … Divisidero, in only his third career start, pulled a bit of an upset in the 1 1/16-mile American Turf Stakes, beating A Lot and paying $19.20 to win … In the 7-furlong Humana Distaff, Dame Dorothy defeated Judy the Beauty. … Tepin was a surprise winner in the Churchill Distaff Turf Race, paying $20.20 in beating Coffee Clique. … In the Churchill Downs Stakes, a 7-furlong race, Private Zone won with relative ease as 29-1 shot Nates Mineshaft placed a surprising second. … And in the 1 1/8-mile Woodford Reserve Turf Classic Stakes, Finnegans Wake was the winner and Jake Milton awarded second after an obstruction foul against Sky Captain was upheld. Sky Captain was bumped from second to fourth.
