The 142nd running of the Kentucky Derby this past Saturday at Churchill Downs saw Nyquist, the heavy favorite of the race, earning the win. Ridden by Mario Gutierrez, Nyquist took the lead going down the homestretch and was able to hold off Exaggerator to win the event by 1 ? lengths.
Nyquist was the 2 to 1 favorite to win the race and is now undefeated in eight starts. Gutierrez stated the win was an amazing feeling as Nyquist needs only needs a horse to push him. Gutierrez commented that if Nyquist feels somebody is coming he is going to keep going as fast as he needs to.
Nyquist ended the race with an official time of 2:01:31 on the 1 and ? mile track. This was close to two seconds faster than American Pharaoh, the Triple Crown Winner, finish time from 2015. Keith Desormeaux is the trainer of Exaggerator, who stated that he thought they had time to catch Nyquist, and he cannot respect the horse enough.