Big Brown Wins 134th Kentucky Derby

Ovid
(43 BC - 17 AD)

Big Brown Bounty

Big Brown boldly blasted from gate #20 into the fray, and he never looked back.

The three-year-old thoroughbred won big at the 134^thKentucky Derby horse race, held on Saturday, May 3, 2008, at Churchill Downs, in Louisville, Kentucky.

In just the fourth big race of his career, Big Brown was undefeated and a crowd favorite to win the coveted title in the Kentucky Derby. He is only the seventh undefeated winner in the entire history of the annual Kentucky Derby horse race, which many consider to be the pinnacle of thoroughbred horse racing.

Big Brown is the first Kentucky Derby winner from the unfavorable twentieth post position since 1929.

Veteran jockey Kent Desormeaux, in his red-white-and-blue jockey silks, sporting stars and stripes, marked his third Kentucky Derby win. (Desormeaux won the 1998 Kentucky Derby with Real Quiet and the 2000 Kentucky Derby with Fusaichi Pegasus.)

Before the race began, Desormeaux was heard to say, "This is my best chance to win the Kentucky Derby." He had high hopes for Big Brown.

The jockey's Sonja and son Jacob cheered from the Kentucky Derby stands.

"God certainly has blessed me with all this good fortune," Desormeaux said after the 1.25-mile race.

Race Results

Big Brown was the undisputed winner of the 134^thKentucky Derby. No photo finish was needed to mark the three-year-old as the clear victor. Eight Belles came in second, followed by Denis of Cork.

Tragically, Eight Belles collapsed immediately after finishing the race. With two broken front ankles, the popular filly was euthanized on the Churchill Downs racetrack. (Click here to read about this equine tragedy.)

Preakness Promise?

Trained by Richard Dutrow, Jr., and owned by International Equine Acquisitions Holdings (IEAH), Big Brown emerged victorious in the Kentucky Derby by a clear margin. In fact, in his four career wins, he has won all four horse races by an average of eight lengths.

The Kentucky Derby historic horse race represents the first jewel in the famous Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Horse Racing. The Preakness and Belmont Stakes are the other two jewels.

With the 133^rd Preakness Stakes scheduled for May 17, 2008, at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, horse racing enthusiasts are already asking the obvious question: Is Big Brown a possible Triple Crown winner?

Trainer Dutrow insists that Big Brown is ready for the challenge. "The Preakness?" he remarked. "We can't wait to get there."

The Preakness Stakes will be followed by the famous Belmont Stakes horse race on June 7, 2008, at Belmont Park, in Belmont, New York.

Time will tell just how big this Big Brown will be! Odds are, the feisty young Kentucky Derby winner will be thoroughly exciting to watch.