How does a three-horse photo in the Kentucky Derby rank? Here are the closest finishes ever.
Mystik Dan won a historic 150th edition of the Kentucky Derby by a nose on Saturday night.
Trained by Lexington native Kenny McPeek and ridden by jockey Brian Hernandez Jr., Mystik Dan got a rail ride throughout the Derby and just had enough at the wire to edge out late-charging Sierra Leone and Forever Young in a photo finish.
It was one of the closest finishes in Derby history, and it decided the richest edition of the race yet. (Saturday’s race had a $5 million purse).
But it was far from the first close finish in Derby history.
Here are some of the other close finishes in the now 150-year history of the Derby, including the last time that a nose margin decided the Run for the Roses in 1996.
▪ Worth defeats Duval by a neck in 1912: The 38th running of the Derby came down to just a neck margin. After establishing a 1-length lead in the home stretch, Worth held off a charge from Duval in the closing moments to win the race in a final time of 2:09.4.
▪ Paul Jones defeats Upset by a head in 1920: The 46th edition of the Derby brought about a winning margin that was only a head. Paul Jones sprung an upset win over the favorite, Upset, by that narrow margin.
▪ Whiskery defeats Osmand by a head in 1927: Just seven years later, another head margin was used to decide the 53rd running of the Derby when Whiskery topped Osmand by that small margin. This result came after Whiskery and Osmand were even with just a sixteenth to go. Whiskery won in a final time of 2:06.
▪ Brokers Tip defeats Head Play by a nose in 1933: The first Kentucky Derby to be officially decided by a nose came in 1933, when Brokers Tip defeated Head Play by that narrow margin in the 59th running of the race. A rough-and-tumble stretch run ended with Brokers Tip just edging out Head Play at the wire in a winning time of 2:06.8.
▪ Bold Venture defeats Brevity by a head in 1936: The 62nd running of the Kentucky Derby saw Bold Venture open up a length lead over Brevity in the stretch, before Bold Venture maintained his lead to score an upset win by a head in a final time of 2:03.6.
▪ Jet Pilot defeats Phalanx by a head in 1947: Jet Pilot established the early lead in the 1947 Kentucky Derby, and held on to win the 73rd running of the race despite a strong late charge from the favorite, Phalanx. The winning time for Jet Pilot in that year’s race was 2:06.8.
According to Churchill Downs, the 2024 Derby marked the first three-horse photo finish in the race since Jet Pilot, Phalanx and Faultless in 1947.
▪ Dark Star defeats Native Dancer by a head in 1953: Dark Star used a front-running performance to hold off Native Dancer in the 79th running of the Derby in 1953. This proved to be the only loss that Native Dancer suffered in his racing career. Dark Star won the 1953 Derby in a final time of 2:02.
▪ Iron Liege defeats Gallant Man (GB) by a nose in 1957: After more than two decades, another Kentucky Derby was decided by a nose margin. The end result in this year’s race came partially as a result of legendary jockey Bill Shoemaker misjudging the finish line and standing up too early in his stirrups while aboard Gallant Man. Another legendary jockey, Bill Hartack, guided Iron Liege to the win in a final time of 2:02.2.
▪ Northern Dancer defeats Hill Rise by a neck in 1964: A neck margin was used to decide the 90th running of the Kentucky Derby in 1964. Northern Dancer, the second-choice odds’ wise, just edged out the post-time favorite, HIll Rise, to win the 1964 race.
Northern Dancer’s winning time of 2:00 set a Churchill Downs track record.
▪ Majestic Prince defeats Arts and Letters by a neck in 1969: Just five years later, another neck margin decided the 1969 edition of the Derby. The post-time favorite, Majestic Prince, held on in the stretch to defeat Arts and Letters in a winning time of 2:01.8.
▪ Winning Colors defeats Forty Niner by a neck in 1988: Fast forward nearly two decades and another neck margin determined the outcome of the 114th Kentucky Derby in 1988. Winning Colors built a 4-length lead on the backstretch, and used every bit of that margin to hold on for the win over Forty Niner’s late run in a final time of 2:02.2.
▪ Grindstone defeats Cavonnier by a nose in 1996: Prior to this year’s race, the most recent Kentucky Derby that was decided by a nose margin was Grindstone’s win over Cavonnier in 1996. Grindstone used a fifth lane in the stretch run to claim the Derby win over Cavonnier at the wire in a winning time of 2:01.06.
Grindstone gave now 88-year-old trainer D. Wayne Lukas the third of his four Derby wins.
▪ Silver Charm defeats Captain Bodgit by a head in 1997: An epic battle between Silver Charm and Captain Bodgit went the way of the horse ridden by legendary jockey Gary Stevens, who piloted Silver Charm to a win in the 132nd Derby in a final time of 2:02.44.
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