Coming out of the starting gate, Medina Spirit was out in front of the pack from start-to-finish, as trainer Bob Baffert and jockey John Velazquez claim victory for a second-consecutive year at the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, K.Y.
Just before the gates opened for the mile-and-a-quarter race, the odds for Medina Spirit were listed at 12-1, the sixth-best odds in the 20-horse field.
Medina Spirit was able to leg out the win in the first leg of horse racing's Triple Crown, despite a late push from Mandaloun and Hot Rod Charlie ahead of the finish line. The horse with the best betting odds (5-2) heading into the race, Essential Quality, came right behind the top-three horses in fourth.
With the win at the 2021 Kentucky Derby, Baffert won his seventh Kentucky Derby as a trainer, giving him the most wins for a trainer in the race's 147-year history. He also won last year's race with Authentic, who was also jockeyed by Velazquez.
Baffert will now look to train Medina Spirit to be his third horse to win the Triple Crown since 2015, joining American Pharoah and Justify in 2018.
As for Velazquez, he earns his fourth-career win as a jockey at the Kentucky Derby, adding to his wins in 2020, 2017 and 2011.
Here are the results of the 147th Running of the Kentucky Derby:
1.) Medina Spirit ($1.86 million)
2.) Mandaloun ($600,000)
3.) Hot Rod Charlie ($300,000)
4.) Essential Quality ($150,000)
5.) O Besos ($90,000)
6.) Midnight Bourbon
7.) Keepmeinmind
8.) Helium
9.) Known Agenda
10.) Highly Motivated
11.) Sainthood
12.) Like the King
13.) Bourbonic
14.) Hidden Stash
15.) Brooklyn Strong
16.) Super Stock
17.) Rock Your World
18.) Dynamic One
19.) Soup and Sandwich
20.) King Fury (Scratched)
The second leg of horse racing's Triple Crown is set to take place on May 15 with the 146th Running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland.