What to Watch for in the 2023 Kentucky Derby
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In 2019, a year after Justify became only the 13th Triple Crown winner, many observers expected a quiet Derby. But then Maximum Security was disqualified for interfering with other horses after a tense review period that lasted nearly 22 minutes. In the end, the victory was handed to the 65-1 shot Country House. In the 145-year history of the Derby, no other horse had lost a win for such an act.
In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic kept fans far from the glow of the Twin Spires on the first Saturday in May. When Authentic pulled off a gate-to-wire victory, giving Bob Baffert his record-tying sixth Derby champion, the horse did so without the guttural roar that usually cascades down from the 150,000-capacity grandstand. There were no broken Derby glasses, no all-night victory parties, only protests for racial justice and a few stragglers in camping chairs outside the gates.
A diminished but festive crowd returned in 2021, and Medina Spirit, a 12-1 shot trained by Baffert, crossed the finish line first. Baffert notched his seventh Derby victory, surpassing the record set by Ben Jones, and the party was back on — until it wasn’t. Medina Spirit failed a drug test after the race and was disqualified months later, handing the victory to the 26-1 shot Mandaloun. Baffert was banned from the Derby for two years.
Desperate for a feel-good story, hard-core horseplayers and casual fans alike got one in 2022 when the 80-1 long shot Rich Strike, who was not even in the field until Friday, came from behind to pull off one of the biggest shocks in Derby history.
Source: The New York Times
