❄Kentucky Derby: Rich Strike (2022), Mage (2023) and Mystik Dan (2024) winning runs | NBC Sports

Once again, we're ready for a start. They're off, and summer is tomorrow, and a great start, and goes immediately to the early lead. Messier is away, running with speed, Crown Pride to the outside. Epicenter's gonna be taken back a bit, down toward the inside, as Teba goes up outside of Chargent. And farther out, and close to the pace is Cyberknife. Then comes, on the outside, Zozos, as they race by us for the first time. It will be summer is tomorrow, to lead the way. Crown Pride on the outside, second, Messier follows in third, Zozos fourth. Cyberknife is fifth to the outside. And then it's Teba, Chargent behind them. Epicenter finds himself in mid-pack here. Hyander, Medina, Smile, Happy next, and then Zanden to the inside, and Wyda Mario. Lassa Causeway is after that. They're followed by Tawny Porte. It's the end of the backstretch, Simplification is next. Then comes Tiz the Bomb, Rich Strike, O'Donoghue to the inside, and then the two trailers up the backstretch are Barber Road and Happy Jack. That opening half mile was, whoa, blazing fast. 45.36 seconds for summer is tomorrow. Who heads up the backstretch in front? With Japan's Crown Pride right alongside, and Messier goes up in between those two. The pace continues to be hot. Zozos is next after three quarters in one minute, ten and four-fifth seconds. And now Epicenter comes splitting horses, and is moving up quickly as Crown Pride takes the lead around the far turn. It is Crown Pride battling with Messier. They're stride for stride. Epicenter and Zozos in behind them. Cyberknife sweeps up on the outside. Zanden gets the rail run, and they're into the stretch. And it's Messier, Crown Pride, and Epicenter is coming up on the outside. Epicenter has taken the lead as they arrive into the final furlong. Zanden is coming after him. Epicenter and Zanden, these two. The outside is next. They're coming down to the wire. Epicenter, Zanden. And Strike is coming up on the inside. Oh, my goodness. This shot has won the Kentucky Derby. Rich Strike has done it in a stunning, unbelievable upset. Forget Rich Strike, Lightning Strike. That's one of the biggest upsets in the history of the Kentucky Derby. Friday morning at 8 a.m., this horse was not in the race. Eric Reid, the trainer, Sonny Leon, the jockey, have never been a part of the Derby, and they have won an unbelievably upset, shocking Kentucky Derby with Rich Strike, who went off at 80 to 1. What an upset, though. There's nothing on this horse's past performances that suggests this was even a possibility. He's in the two-path right now, and he's going to move around one more horse that doesn't seem to be running very fast, and he's moving. So Sonny Leon guides him between horses, and now he really starts to accelerate, and he'll move back in as he approaches the middle of the turn. Watch him move back to the inside rail. That was a really big move right there because then the table is set for him to just run up the rail as the other front runners tire. Epicenter's 2 1⁄2 lengths in front there. He was further back than usual early, but he handled it beautifully, stormed to the lead. Zandon had a dream trip along the rail for most of the race. He swung out perfectly. It was the battle between the two horses we thought were the best, and out of the clouds, a lightning strike. Rich Strike, second-longest odds for a Kentucky Derby winner. I don't know how. I fell down the paddock when he hit the wire. I about passed out. I'm so happy. This is something that, you know, is the reason everybody does this because we're not supposed to be here, but I knew this horse loved the track, and he'd been training so good all year, and thanks to Rick for getting me here. And Sonny Leon, they know who he is now. Unbelievable. I can't explain it. It's unreal. Chase's road has a very good beginning and goes out to the front. So it's these four early on, Confidence Game and two fills, drafting in behind them, and then Hinshaw to the inside. They're being followed by Rocket Cannon, Rains Cane, King Russell is next, Cyclone Bishop to the outside, and then comes Mandarin Hero in disarm. Dermis Otagake has been taken well off the pace here. He is near the back of the pack early on, and then comes Mage, followed by Sun Thunder, The two favorites are second to last, and last, as they race to the back stretch, it is verifying in front. Kings Barnes on the outside second. This opening quarter mile was quick, quicker than we expected, 45.73 seconds, and then it's Rian Carnate running in third on the outside. Two fills, follows him forth. Confidence Game fifth. Hinshaw is sixth. He's racing six links off the lead. Rake of another two to Rocket Cannon, and then Rains Cane to the inside. Disarm is next. Mandarin Hero has nine links to make up, and fellow Japanese runner Dermis Otagake has moved through on his inside. Angel of Empire has passed a few, too. He's down on the rail as they make their way around the far turn. Kings Barnes, the undefeated runner for Todd Pletcher, is the leader. Here's two fills, making a move on the inside, and the two of them hook up, and Jareth Loveberry has taken two fills to the front. And Kings Barnes is running in second. Hinshaw is circled up on the outside as they come to the top of the stretch, and they're into the stretch, and two fills has turned for home on Todd. Kings Barnes, here's Mage, coming strongly down the outside. Angel of Empire is putting in his run, and there's one furlong to run. Two fills on the inside, trying to hold off Mage. It is going to be Mage to win the Kentucky Derby. The photo disarm was fourth. Mage has done it in 201. .57 seconds under Javier Castellano. And for Javier Castellano, the Hall of Famer, that long-awaited Kentucky Derby, on Mage, a horse that only had three starts, had only won once before, but Mage with a charge at the top of the stretch. Well, Mage, as Randy said, got away poorly from the gate. He crept up, but Javier Castellano was never asking him for his best until he completely straightened out in the stretch. He never even cocked his crop until inside the eighth hole. So I think he knew that he had a short burst left in the horse, and it was certainly enough to overtake two fills and hold off Angel of Empire. What a moment he, Castellano, the Hall of Famer, and the rest of Venezuela have on the big stage, winning the Kentucky Derby. They're off in the Kentucky Derby. Fierst is at an okay start. He came away in the middle of the pack. Track Phantom will go to the early lead, and now John Velasquez gets fierceness into the mix. Stronghold is there. Epic Ride goes up on the far outside. Just Steel is close up, too, as they race past the first time. And then comes Mystic Dan down on the inside of West Saratoga. Resilience is next. Then comes Society Man on the outside, out just a touch. Catalytic along the rail. Dordick is next, saving all the ground into that turn. Then comes Catching Freedom, domestic product. Rambo the first. Then Japan's forever young down on the inside. Sierra Leone has three horses beat. They are T.O. Password, Honor Marie, and Endlessly. So this important half mile coming up here, they run that first half in 46.63 seconds. Pace is even enough. Not flying. Track Phantom the leader. Just Steel perched up on the outside second. Fierceness is third, just outside of them. Then Stronghold, Mystic Dan to the inside. An epic ride three wide. West Saratoga in behind that group. Then Stronghold, he's got seven lengths to make up. Look back for Sierra Leone. He's still about 14 lengths behind, as Track Phantom passes the half mile pole with the lead. And Fierceness is moving now. And going right with him is just Steel. The three of them across the track. Then long shot epic ride. Mystic Dan toward the inside. Stronghold is next. Then Fierceness, Sierra Leone, and Forever Young still with work to do. Forever Young is starting to pick it up as they come toward the top of the stretch. It is Fierceness who's moving up on the outside of Track Phantom. And there on the far outside, here comes a run from Stronghold and Resilience. And Resilience has now moved up to take the lead. And Fierceness has given way, coming by the 16th pole. And Mystic Dan has now come through on the inside. It is Mystic Dan down toward the inside with the lead in the final 16th. Forever Young, Sierra Leone is coming. These three coming down to the wire. Who's it going to be? Oh, it's a photo in the derby. Oh, it's a photo. Was it Mystic Dan? Or was it Sierra Leone? Forever Young was between them. Catching freedom. Finish fourth. A photo finish to decide the 150th Kentucky Derby. We get a tight look now at the finish as the three come down towards the end. It looks like Mystic Dan on the inside. By a nose, by a flared nostril. But obviously that's a very, very subjective and unofficial thought. Mystic Dan on the inside. It is the mirror there that will get the photo. So at the end there as you watch them bob, that's the only look that's right down the line. And that dramatic finish here. One more look at the very end. The mirror is where we're looking. Mystic Dan was the horse holding off the other two at the end. Here's Mystic Dan making the move on the rail to take the lead and then hold them off. Sierra Leone had to check going into the far turn just a little bit and it was force wide while three Mystic Dan is sneaking through on the rail. A huge difference right there and ground loss for Sierra Leone. But yet he still comes with that huge run and wears his competition down late. But Mystic Dan has too much. This is exactly the way he won the Southwest. Right up the rail. Same kind of rail run. Coming down the stretch, right? Sierra Leone was doing his thing again and lugging in and bumping a little bit with Forever Young who he finished alongside. That didn't help him any, but wow. The race is now official. Just got the photo a moment ago and there it is. The margins will be by a nose and by a nose. This is one of the tightest triple crown races. Forget Kentucky Derby, triple crown races, Randy, in the history of the sport. In my memory, I go back to 1980 here, there's never been a three horse finish like this right at the wire. And in 2024, the 150th Derby, it was Mystic Dan making the move at the top of the stretch on the inside and then holding off two hard chargers, Sierra Leone and Forever Young to give the Human Connections their first derby just by a nose. What a win for someone who dreamed of it at age 38 and for a man from Lexington, Kentucky in his 10th try, trainer Kenny McPete has won the 2024 Derby.