In 2021 runner-up Mandaloun was declared the Derby winner nine months after Medina Spirit tested positive for an anti-inflammatory drug.
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LOUISVILLE – Can we just have a normal Kentucky Derby this year?
It’s a serious question, but apparently, that’s a lot to ask these days. After all, the past five first Saturdays in May (and one in September) have thrown plenty of curveballs our way. It’s been a hectic half-decade — in 2023, we’ve earned a little break.
The latest Run for the Roses is coming quickly. Odds for the unexpected twist that’ll happen during this year’s race haven’t been released yet, but here’s a quick look back at the odd stories behind the last five times the Kentucky Derby has taken place.
2018: The wettest Kentucky Derby on record
Ah, if only we knew how relatively normal this race day would seem in hindsight. Simpler times — we were all so young and carefree.
Justify (who would go on to take home the Triple Crown in a victory later questioned due to a positive pre-race drug test) came away with a win in the Kentucky Derby, but the bigger story for fans in attendance was the weather — more than 3 inches of rain fell over the course of the day, according to the National Weather Service’s local office, marking it the wettest race day in the history of the event. Hats and suits took a backseat to ponchos as the trendiest fashion item of the afternoon.
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2019: The Maximum Security disqualification
This was a good year to bet the longshot, although it didn’t always seem like that’d be the case.
Maximum Security, one of the favorites in the race, was the first to cross the finish line, to the cheers of bettors who had wagered on the Florida Derby winner with 9-2 odds. But the party would have to wait — jockeys of two other horses in the race filed objections over the results, claiming Maximum Security’s wide swerve on the turn ahead of the home stretch had cut them off and prevented them from making a final push. After a 22-minute review, Maximum Security’s victory was overturned and Country House — a 65-1 longshot — was declared the winner.
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2020: … where to begin
All right, deep breath — this one might take a few minutes.
Kentucky Derby organizers decided to postpone the race from May 1 (which turned out to have perfect weather, because of course it did) due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, which upended basically every aspect of our lives.
Then NBC decided to have a “Kentucky Derby at home” simulated race which featured virtual Secretariat beating out other Triple Crown winners for an all-time title, and the actual Kentucky Derby race was rescheduled for Sept. 5.
But then weeks ahead of time, Churchill Downs announced fans would not be permitted at the race. It ended up being run in front of nearly empty stands as more than 100 people protesting over the police killing of Breonna Taylor gathered outside the racetrack, including something called the Angry Viking along with the Not F***ing Around Coalition militia and leader John “Grandmaster Jay” Johnson,” who was later federally convicted of pointing a rifle at law enforcement officials the night before the race, which was won by Authentic.
Got all that? Don’t get too comfortable, it only gets slightly less complicated from here on out.
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2021: The year we learned what betamethasone is
The first Saturday in May 2021 was a return to normalcy. That lasted until the second Sunday in May.
Medina Spirit‘s win eight days earlier was put in peril on May 9 after trainer Bob Baffert announced his horse had tested positive for betamethasone, an anti-inflammatory drug. Runner-up Mandaloun was later declared the official winner nine months later in a ruling by three stewards who heard the appeal from Baffert’s attorneys. Baffert, meanwhile, was suspended for two years by Churchill Downs, preventing the record-setting trainer from competing in the Kentucky Derby in 2022 and 2023.
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2022: The 80-1 winner
The chaos at last year’s Kentucky Derby didn’t start until the horses crossed the finish line.
The Garland of Roses was won by Rich Strike, an 80-1 longshot who wasn’t added to the field until the day before the race after another horse scratched. With the horse wearing the No. 21 saddlecloth in a race with 20 horses, little-known jockey Sonny Leon and trainer Eric Reed hit it big after Leon expertly guided Rich Strike from the middle of the pack around the final turn and through traffic to win the race. It was one of the biggest upsets in Kentucky Derby history ― and a nice little Saturday for bettors who put a few dollars on him to win.
Buckle up in 2023. If the last five years have taught us anything, your best bet on the first Saturday in May is to expect the unexpected.
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Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@courier-journal.com.
