Huge outsider Rich Strike won the 148th Kentucky Derby in Louisville to complete one of the biggest shocks in the history of the iconic American horse race.
Former President Donald Trump was in attendance at Churchill Downs and saw the Sonny Leon-ridden, Eric Reed-trained longshot - who had pre-Derby odds of 80-1 - storm to victory by outpacing the like of favourites Epicenter and Zandon.
Rich Strike only entered the field on Friday after Ethereal Road was withdrawn but came from well-back in the 20-horse field with a charge down the stretch to pass the leaders and win the one-and-a-quarter-mile race in 2:02.61.
Both trainer and jockey were entering their first Kentucky Derby but the colt came surging up the rail to stun the racing world.
Trump attended Churchill Downs for his $75,000-per-person fundraiser, although his entrance was shielded from the general public and the press.
Known as ‘The Run for the Roses’, due to the rose garland draped over the winner or ‘The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sport’, the Kentucky Derby is the climax of a two-week long festival and is the first leg of American horse racing’s Triple Crown - followed by the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes.
Spectators had crammed in to the first full Kentucky Derby since the coronavirus pandemic began, standing shoulder-to-shoulder in lines to place their bets and buy mint juleps - the drink most associated with event.
For two years, the pandemic upended the typical extravagance of Derby Day. The 2020 running was delayed until Labour Day weekend and held without spectators. Last year’s race strictly limited the number of tickets sold but the 2022 renewal was expected to surpass 150,000 spectators, its pre-pandemic numbers.
With reporting from AP
