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CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM-LOUISVILLE, Kentucky-Ridden by jockey Mario Guiterrez and heavily favored, Nyquist won the 142nd run of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., and before a crowd of some 167,00 people, the second largest ever behind last year's roughly 170,000 people.
He now heads to the Preakness on Saturday, May 21, the second leg of the coveted Triple Crown.
Guiterrez thanked his wife for her encouragement and said that Nyquist is simply "amazing."
Trainer Doug O'Neil credited Nyquist, Guiterrez, owner Paul Reddam and the whole entourage as a first class act blessed with "such a special horse."
The total purse was $2 million, with Nyquist, who came into the Derby with an 8-0 win-loss record and winnings of $3.3 million, got $1.24 million, second place finisher Exaggerator took home $400,000, and third place went to Gun Runner, who won $200,000 in monies
Fourth place and $100,000 went to Mohaymen, and Suddenbreakingnews, the fifth place winner out of 20 horses in the race, took the remainder of the purse at $60,000.
Nyquist lived up to the hype of one of the most predicted winners ever, and paid $6.60, $4.80, $3.60 for a $2 bet. Hw won by a length over Exaggerator.
The 3-1 odds, with a mediocre payout, reflected its popularity as a front-runner.
Next is the fight for a Triple Crown, which American Pharoah took home last year, the 12th horse in history and overall and the second since Affirmed in 1978 to win such prize.
Ridden by Victor Epinoza, who road California Chrome to a Derby win in 2014 and lost on Saturday riding the 19th placing Whitmore, American Pharoah won the 2015 Kentucky Derby by a length over Firing, with Dortmund, also a favorite, coming in third.
The Kentucky Derby, held annually at Churchill Downs in Louisville, is always the first Saturday in May, with the Preakness in Baltimore, Maryland held two weeks later, and the Belmont Stakes in Elmont, New York three weeks after that, but never before June 5 or after June 11 for the Belmont Stakes.
Winning all three legs, the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and Belmont Stakes, will bring a Triple Crown.
www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com). Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com
