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A horse called Journalism was the favorite to win the 151st Kentucky Derby on Saturday, but the win went to Sovereignty. Sovereignty was followed at the finish line by Journalism and Baeza.
The odds on a win for Sovereignty were 9 to 1. Journalism was favored to with at 7 to 2 odds.
Sovereignty takes home a purse of $3.1 million after defeating 19 3-year-old horses in the 1 1/4 mile race. Journalism took home $1 million while Baeza snagged the third place, $500,000 purse.
The track was awash in mud as rain soaked the Louisville, Kentucky area all day. 147,406 people attended the iconic, annual race, which was a Derby record.
Sovereignty's jockey Junior Alvarado spoke to NBC about the win. His father was also a jockey, making this an emotional win for him, though he went into the day with confidence.
"It means the world to me. My family's here. I thought I had a great chance," he said. "I'm pretty sure they're way over the moon right now."
Alvarado had suffered from a recent injury, but said the horse stuck by him. He praised Sovereignty for his loyalty. This was Alvarado's first Derby win and he had earned 10% of the total win, or $310,000.
The Kentucky Derby is the first leg of the Triple Crown. The next race is the Preakness at Pimlico. That court is 1 3/16 miles and is followed by the Belmont Stakes, which this year will be held at the Saratoga Race Course and runs 1 1/2 miles. Belmont Park was also closed for last year's race due to ongoing construction.
The Preakness will be run on May 17 followed by the Belmont Stakes on June 7. The Belmont is the oldest of the three, having started in 1867.
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