Kentucky Derby: Mystik Dan wins in photo finish; betting favorite Fierceness finishes 15th

Mystik Dan won the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday afternoon at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. The winning time was 2:03.34.

He won in a photo finish over Sierra Leone and Forever Young. The Churchill Downs crowd roared as the three horses made their way down the stretch and then fell silent as no one could tell who won the race by a nose.

WOW. 😱

Mystik Dan WINS the 150th Kentucky Derby in a PHOTO FINISH! pic.twitter.com/N2jfd2TsKe

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) May 4, 2024

Mystik Dan, who entered the race with 18-1 odds, had the lead coming around the final turn and saw his lead reduced in the final furlong, but he held on to win. Betting favorite Fierceness (3-1) ultimately finished in 15th after a strong start.

Winning the 150th Kentucky Derby on May 4 holds extra significance for Lance Gasaway, one of Mystik Dan’s owners whose father died exactly a year ago.

“To me, this is for him,” Gasaway said. “Dad would’ve loved it. He loved the game.”

GO DEEPER

The people and moments that made Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan

Mystik Dan is trained by Kenneth McPeek and ridden by Brian Hernandez. Both trainer and jockey also won Friday’s Kentucky Oaks with Thorpedo Anna. McPeek is the first trainer to win both the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby on the same weekend since Ben Jones accomplished the feat in 1952. Entering Friday, neither McPeak nor Hernandez had ever won a Kentucky Oaks or Kentucky Derby.

“My horse was just cruising along so comfortably, it never felt like we were going that quickly,” Hernandez said. “I was just smiling the whole time. It’s an amazing feeling when you have the horse under you and you know they’re gonna go forward and forward and forward.”

A $2 win bet on Mystik Dan paid $39.22. A $2 exacta bet on Mystik Dan and Sierra Leone paid $258.56.

For more on the Kentucky Derby, follow The Athletic’s live blog.

Full results with final betting odds set before race

Mystik Dan (18-1)
Sierra Leone (9-2)
Forever Young (6-1)
Catching Freedom (8-1)
T O Password (48-1)
Resilience (32-1)
Stronghold (35-1)
Honor Marie (15-1)
Endlessly (48-1)
Dornoch (22-1)
Track Phantom (40-1)
West Saratoga (22-1)
Domestic Product (27-1)
Epic Ride (47-1)
Fierceness (3-1)
Society Man (46-1)
Just Steel (21-1)
Grand Mo the First (47-1)
Catalytic (34-1)
Just a Touch (11-1)

Required reading

(Photo: Justin Casterline / Getty Images)