By Kennedy Kearns, Year 12
On May 4th, 2024 Mystik Dan took the win in the 150th Kentucky Derby, in a photo finish. The Kentucky Derby is an annual horse race that takes place in Churchill Downs. The track and area are absolutely beautiful, with classic horse stables, beautiful stands and tracks. The Derby is now a world-renowned event, and the 1.25-mile long race is one of the most anticipated throughout the day and is a time for a lot of people to lose or make money. The competition, now celebrating its 150th year, has become the longest continual sports event in history, having survived 2 world wars, the Great Depression, and pandemics, the Derby always prevails.
The Derby, unlike any other sport, contains horses from all over, as well as a variety of jockeys. However, the horses must all share the same birth year, and be male thoroughbred horses. The horses also must have accumulated 40 points during the racing season before qualifying for the Derby. Furthermore, the jockeys range from many different countries and heights, however are generally smaller men, who are specially trained to ride the horses. This year’s winning jockey Brian Hernandez, from Louisiana, had an amazing race weekend winning the Kentucky Oaks and the Derby.
Not only is the Derby significant because of its history, but it’s also famous for its fashion. The Kentucky Derby is known for keeping traditional of Spring style with amazing and elegant dresses, hats and suits. The hats worn to the Kentucky Derby are extravagant and classic and are a true symbol of the race. The jockeys’ uniforms also have different colours and symbols to match either the horse or based on the specific place where the jockey is racing.
The race is also a chance for people to either make a lot or lose a lot of money. This year a record-breaking total of $320.5 million dollars was bet in total on the race. This means that while some became richer, the results of the Derby were also a loss to many. Not only is this money betted by Americans on the derby, but also from other countries. For example, this year, $10.7 million dollars was wagered from Japan on the Derby. How the betting scheme works is if you wager money and have a 20-1 ratio for your horse, that means that for every dollar you bet if your horse wins, you get $420, which means that many people are not betting on your horse. However if the ratio is 5-2, that means your horse is popular and for every $2 you put in, you would get $5 if your horse won. Mystic Dane holds an 18-1 odds ratio, making people who bet on the winner come out with huge winnings.
This year’s favourites were Fierceness and Sierra Leone, but neither was able to come out on top. Mystik Dan was the winner as the horse with the fastest time, but only just by his nose! The race was one for the history books and was a great end to the horse racing season. Owners of Mystik Dan took home $3.1 million dollars for their fantastic win. No better race could have happened to celebrate the 150th Kentucky Derby than this photo finish.
