| Surface: | Dirt |
| 150th Kentucky Derby | |
| Horse Race: | Kentucky Derby |
| Class: | Grade I stakes race |
| Location: | Churchill Downs Louisville, Kentucky, United States |
| Distance: | NaN0NaN0 |
| Winning Horse: | Mystik Dan |
| Winning Time: | 2:03.34 |
| Final Odds: | 18:1 |
| Winning Jockey: | Brian Hernandez Jr. |
| Winning Trainer: | Kenneth G. McPeek |
| Winning Owner: | Lance Gasaway, Daniel Hamby, 4G Racing |
| Attendance: | 156,710 |
| Conditions: | Fast |
| Previous: | 2023 |
| Next: | 2025 |
The 2024 Kentucky Derby (branded as the 150th Running of the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve for sponsorship reasons) was the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby. It took place on May 4, 2024, at Churchill Downs, in Louisville, Kentucky.[1] The race was open to 20 horses, who qualified through the 2024 Road to the Kentucky Derby.
Mystik Dan won in a three-way photo finish, at 18:1 odds. He and jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. held off late charges by Sierra Leone and Forever Young to reach the wire first by a nose.[2] [3] It was the first nose margin victory in this event since the 1996 Kentucky Derby won by Grindstone and the first three-horse photo finish in this race since the 1947 Kentucky Derby, which was won by Jet Pilot.[4] [5] One day before the Kentucky Derby, Hernandez and trainer Kenny McPeek teamed up with Thorpedo Anna to win the Kentucky Oaks.[3] McPeek became the first trainer since 1952 to win the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby in the same year.
The race was broadcast by NBC. Coverage of undercard events began at noon EDT on USA Network before transitioning to the main NBC network for pre-race activities at 2:30 p.m. The entirety of the day was also streamed on NBC's streaming platform Peacock. FanDuel TV also provided live streaming from 10:30 a.m. to noon and from 7:30 p.m. until the festivities ended.[6]
A record $210.7 million was bet on the 2024 Kentucky Derby. Overall, a record $320.5 million was bet on the races that were run at Churchill Downs on the day of the Kentucky Derby.[7] NBC reported an average of 16.7 million viewers across its platforms and a peak audience of 20.1 million viewers, making it the most watched running of the race since 1989.[8] Prior to the race, NBC and Churchill Downs announced an extension of NBC's broadcasting rights to last through 2032.[9]
See main article: 2024 Road to the Kentucky Derby. The field was limited to twenty horses who qualify based on points earned in the 2024 Road to the Kentucky Derby, a series of designated races that was first introduced in 2013. This point system replaced the previous graded stakes race earnings system.[10] The Main Road consists mostly of races in North America and one in Dubai, the Japan Road consists of four races in Japan, and the European Road consists of seven races in Great Britain, Ireland and France.[11] T O Password qualified via the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby.[11] Horses trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, who is suspended from entering and racing horses at tracks owned by Churchill Downs, did not earn any qualification points.[12]
The field was drawn on April 27. Fierceness was installed as the 5-to-2 favorite and drew post number 17.[13] [14]
On April 30, Encino was scratched from the entry list after suffering a soft tissue strain, which allowed the John Ennis-trained Epic Ride to qualify from the also-eligible list.[15]
The race was won by the Ken McPeek-trained Mystik Dan, who won a three-way photo finish over Sierra Leone and Japanese contender Forever Young. Mystik Dan came into the race with two wins in six starts, with his most recent victory coming in the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park. Pre-race favorite Fierceness was among the early front runners of the race with Just Steel and Track Phantom, but Fierceness ultimately was unable to keep pace in the home stretch and dropped to a 15th-place finish. Track Phantom finished 11th and Just Steel finished 17th. Mystik Dan was brought to the rail by jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. soon after the start and sat mid-pack behind a modest pace before making his bid for the lead around the far turn when he slipped past Track Phantom. He held a short lead turning for home and drew clear by two lengths down the stretch. Sierra Leone and Forever Young closed late, but were not able to catch Mystik Dan, who held on to win the race by a nose in the race's first three-horse photo finish since the 1947 Kentucky Derby. Sierra Leone and Forever Young repeatedly bumped each other down the stretch, but neither horse's jockey claimed a foul.[5] [16] [17] [18] The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission announced that the stewards ordered Tyler Gaffalione's presence at the race's “film review” on May 9. In the final straightaway duel, Gaffalione made multiple contacts with Forever Young with his left hand. Chad Brown, however, defended his jockey.[19] Gaffalione was given a $2,500 fine for the incident.[20]
| Finish | Program Numbers | Horse | Qualifying Points | Trainer | Jockey | Morning Line Odds | Final Odds | Margin (Lengths) | Winnings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Mystik Dan | 46 | Kenneth G. McPeek | Brian Hernandez Jr. | 20:1 | 18.61 | $3,100,000 | ||
| 2 | 2 | Sierra Leone | 155 | Chad C. Brown | Tyler Gaffalione | 3:1 | 4.79 | Nose | $1,000,000 | |
| 3 | 11 | Forever Young (JPN) | 100 | Yoshito Yahagi | Ryusei Sakai | 10:1 | 7.03 | Head | $500,000 | |
| 4 | 4 | Catching Freedom | 125 | Brad H. Cox | Flavien Prat | 8:1 | 8.47 | $250,000 | ||
| 5 | 10 | T O Password (JPN) | 40 | Daisuke Takayanagi | Kazushi Kimura | 30:1 | 48.20 | $150,000 | ||
| 6 | 19 | Resilience | 110 | William I. Mott | Junior Alvarado | 20:1 | 31.85 | |||
| 7 | 18 | Stronghold | 125 | Philip D'Amato | Antonio Fresu | 20:1 | 35.55 | |||
| 8 | 7 | Honor Marie | 65 | Whitworth D. Beckman | Ben Curtis | 20:1 | 14.90 | |||
| 9 | 14 | Endlessly | 100 | Michael McCarthy | Umberto Rispoli | 30:1 | 48.83 | |||
| 10 | 1 | Dornoch | 75 | Danny Gargan | Luis Saez | 20:1 | 22.91 | 18 | ||
| 11 | 12 | Track Phantom | 70 | Steven M. Asmussen | Joel Rosario | 20:1 | 41.58 | |||
| 12 | 13 | West Saratoga | 67 | Larry Demeritte | Jesús Castañón | 50:1 | 22.93 | |||
| 13 | 15 | Domestic Product | 60 | Chad C. Brown | Irad Ortiz Jr. | 30:1 | 24.17 | |||
| 14 | 21 | Epic Ride | 35 | John Ennis | Adam Beschizza | 50:1 | 47.57 | |||
| 15 | 17 | Fierceness | 136 | Todd A. Pletcher | John R. Velazquez | data-sort-value=2.5:1 | 5:2 | 3.21 | ||
| 16 | 20 | Society Man | 50 | Danny Gargan | Frankie Dettori | 50:1 | 47.41 | |||
| 17 | 6 | Just Steel | 65 | D. Wayne Lukas | Keith Asmussen | 20:1 | 21.27 | |||
| 18 | 16 | Grand Mo the First | 40 | Victor Barboza Jr. | Emisael Jaramillo | 50:1 | 49.32 | 37 | ||
| 19 | 5 | Catalytic | 50 | Saffie Joseph Jr. | José Ortiz | 30:1 | 34.82 | |||
| 20 | 8 | Just a Touch | 75 | Brad H. Cox | Florent Geroux | 10:1 | 11.57 | 54 | ||
| scratched | Encino | 40 | Brad H. Cox | Axel Concepcion | 20:1 | |||||
| Mugatu | 14 | Jeff Engler | Joseph Talamo | 50:1 | ||||||
Track condition
fast Times: mile – 22.97; mile – 46.63; mile – 1:11.31; mile – 1:37.46; final – 2:03.34.
Splits for each quarter-mile: (22.97) (23.66) (24.68) (26.15) (25.88)
Source: Equibase chart[21]
The table below provides the Kentucky Derby payout schedule for a $2 stake.
| Program number | Horse name | Win | Place | Show |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Mystik Dan | $39.22 | $16.32 | $10.00 |
| 2 | Sierra Leone | — | $6.54 | $4.64 |
| 11 | Forever Young | — | — | $5.58 |