Who won the Kentucky Derby? Mage wins at Churchill Downs
Mage won Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, beating Two Phil’s late at Churchill Downs.
He won in a time of 2:01 with experienced jockey Javier Castellano and trainer Gustavo Delgado, both Venezuelans.
“Never give up, always give it your all, do what’s right,” Castellano said of winning his first Kentucky derby.
Mage came from behind as Kingsbarns took an early lead and won Two Phil’s mid-race.
“It’s a small horse but a big heart,” said Castellano.
Delgado reflected on his journey after competing in two previous Kentucky Derbies and earning his first win.
“When I came to the United States, my first dream was, ‘Go to the Kentucky Derby. Go to the Derby,'” he said. “When I ran twice, remember, those horses were very bad. But this time I’m sure the horse is very, very good.”
Mage is owned by a group of 382 people led by Chase Chamberlin, a Cincinnati businessman. He dedicated the race to his friend and co-partner who died of breast cancer two weeks ago at the age of 38.
“The dream is alive. That’s what horse racing is about,” he said. “It’s the only animal in the world that could take a million people for a ride, or in our case 382.”
Saturday was the 149th running of the Kentucky Derby, but this year’s event was marred by the deaths of seven horses leading up to the race.
Hours before the Derby, the favorite Forte was scratched, becoming the fifth horse to be scratched in the race. That opened the door for the other competitors with the field of 18 horses.
It’s been a tumultuous week at Churchill Downs. Two of the horses that died had the same trainer, Saffie Joseph Jr. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and Board of Stewards suspended Joseph indefinitely and scratched his Derby horse Lord Miles in the wake of the deaths.
The sixth horse to die this week, Chloe’s Dream, was euthanized on Saturday after suffering an injury in Race 2, and Freezing Point died after the day’s eighth race. He was euthanized after an ankle injury.
The second leg of the Triple Crown is the Preakness Stakes, which will be held on May 20th at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course. The last horse to win the Preakness after a Derby win was Justify in 2018, who later took over the Belmont Stakes and became the 13th Triple Crown winner.
