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Justify wins Kentucky Derby on sloppy track

Justify wins Kentucky Derby on sloppy track
Posted at 6:55 PM, May 05, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-05 19:40:43-04

Race favorite Justify, ridden by Mike Smith, won the 144th Kentucky Derby on a sloppy track at Louisville's Churchill Downs on Saturday.

Justify is trained by Bob Baffert, who now has five Derby wins.

Good Magic finished second, just ahead of Audible. The winning time was 2:04.20.

Justify, the 5-2 favorite, became the first Derby winner in 136 years that did not race as a 2-year-old. The chestnut colt has won all four starts as a 3-year-old.

 

 

The race was the wettest in the event's history as more than 2.8 inches of rain fell Saturday.

Justify broke from the No. 7 post well, ran to the front with Promises Fulfilled and pulled away just as the horses passed the 3/4 mile marker in the 1-1/4 mile race.

Mendelssohn, the European-trained colt that was a 6-1 favorite, struggled and finished last in the 20-horse field.

The favorite has won the Kentucky Derby for six consecutive years, the longest streak in the race's history.

The next race in the Triple Crown series is May 19 -- the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. The Belmont Stakes in Elmont, New York, is June 9 at Belmont Park.

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