I’ll Have Another wins the Kentucky Derby

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – I’ll Have Another chased down Bodemeister in the stretch to capture the 138th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on Saturday.
With first-time Derby jockey Mario Gutierrez aboard, I’ll Have Another stayed off the blazing pace set by Bodemeister and Trinniberg and closed strong for trainer Doug O’Neill to finish in 2:01.83.
I’ll Have Another went off at 13-1 odds and paid $32.60 to win. Bodemeister, the second betting favorite at 5-1, held off a charging Dullahan for second place.
Pre-race favorite Union Rags finished seventh. The other Fair Hill horse, Went The Day Well, trained by Graham Motion, who won last year’s Kentucky Derby with Animal Kingdom, finished a strong fourth.
Despite overnight rains, the track was considered fast after several early races.
Bob Baffert’s speedy colt Bodemeister had been trying to trample 130 years of history by becoming the first horse in 130 years to win American’s most prestigious race after not competing as a 2-year-old.
And Union Rags, the Michael Matz entry who had been the favorite early this year before flailing in his final prep race, was hoping to prove his doubters wrong.
But the talk heading into the week had been Bodemeister’s impressive victory in the Arkansas Derby by 9 { lengths. Baffert was relieved Wednesday when Bodemeister drew the No. 6 post position.
Baffert, who last claimed the roses at Churchill Downs in 2002 with War Emblem, said on Friday that his horse has been “fantastic all week.”
“He’s worked well all over the track and seems to like it. He was that way going into Arkansas, and we’ll need the race to be there in the end,” Baffert said.
The trainer was in the spotlight for more than his horse. He suffered a heart attack in Dubai in March and has since lost 10 pounds.