Baffert's Justify thunders to victory in rainiest Kentucky Derby ever

Justify, the race favorite, won the 144th Run for the Roses on the rainiest Kentucky Derby Day on record at Churchill Downs on Saturday.

Trained by now five-time Derby-winning trainer Bob Baffert, Justify went off at odds of 5-2. Jockey Mike Smith took him to the lead midway through the backstretch and remained untroubled through an extremely fast pace on a sloppy track.

When he got away clean, then I knew he had a chance," Baffert said, but he noted a little concern when he saw the time of the first quarter mile, a blistering :22.24 led by Dale Romans' speed horse Promises Fulfilled. "He was doing it easy. This horse and American Pharoah are just cut from a different (cloth) … I rank him up there with my top ones. You just saw a great performance."

Baffert won the Triple Crown with American Pharoah, and looks to have a horse that will go into the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Park as the favorite again in two weeks.

The win breaks the Curse of Apollo that has kept an unraced 2-year-old from winning the Derby for 136 years.

"It would take a horse like this to break this curse, Smith said right after the race. "Wow. He’s so above average. And he’s got a mind to go with it."

The undefeated Justify, one of four sons of the late Scat Daddy in the race, had only three starts coming into the Derby, but his second win came on a muddy track. Saturday's slop did not bother him. "He was loving this stuff," Smith said.

Justify paid $7.80, $6 and $4.40. Toyota Blue Grass Stakes champ Good Magic came in second for $9.20 and $6.60. Audible finished third for $5.80. A $2 exacta paid $69.60. A 50 cent trifecta paid $70.70.

The rest of the field finished in the following order, Instilled Regard, My Boy Jack, Bravazo, Hofburg, Lone Sailor, Vino Rosso, Solomini, Firenze Fire, Bolt d'Oro, Flameaway, Enticed, Promises Fulfilled, Free Drop Billy, Noble Indy, Combatant, Magnum Moon and Mendelssohn.

This story will be updated.

This story was originally published May 5, 2018 at 7:06 PM with the headline "Baffert's Justify thunders to victory in rainiest Kentucky Derby ever."