LOUISVILLE, Ky. — John Velazquez won the Kentucky Derby by a broken nose.
An injury to Animal Kingdom’s regular rider, Robby Albarado, cleared the way for Velazquez to pick up the mount on the 20-1 longshot.
Once he took the reins Saturday, he rode his good luck all the way to the winner’s circle.
“For once, I’m on the good end of it,” Velazquez said. “All of a sudden I pick up this one and he wins the Derby, so it was meant to be.”
The last three years, the New York-based jockey came to Churchill Downs with a colt considered a leading contender, only to have it withdrawn.
This time, he was supposed to ride early second choice Uncle Mo before the colt was scratched because of a lingering stomach problem. Then Albarado broke his nose when he was thrown off his horse and kicked in the face before a race three days ago.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
“It’s words that you can’t describe,” Velazquez said. “But I do really feel really bad for Robby. I hope he’s winning the Derby with me here. I know he got hurt, so this is for both of us, buddy. I know you’re not on it, but I know you’re with me.”
Trainer Graham Motion got lucky too.
His top Derby horse, Wood Memorial winner Toby’s Corner, never made it to Louisville. He had a leg injury and never left Motion’s barn in Maryland.
“Somebody said, ‘Are you surprised to win with a second-tier horse?’ ” Motion said. “I said, ‘I’m not sure we would categorize him as a second-tier horse. He’s been an extraordinary horse to train. I was so impressed with how he handled everything.”
Animal Kingdom, who had never raced on dirt before, reacted to his new rider the way a champion should, charging down the middle of the stretch to win by 2 3/4 lengths. He ran 1 1/4 miles in 2:02.04 — well off Secretariat’s track record of 1:59.40 in 1973 — and paid $43.80, $19.60 and $13.
Nehro returned $8.80 and $6.40, and Mucho Macho Man was another neck back in third and paid $7 to show.
Dialed In went off as the 5-1 favorite for two-time Derby-winning trainer Nick Zito, but finished eighth.
Mucho Macho Man’s finish for Kathy Ritvo tied her for second-best result by a female trainer in the 137-year-old race. Shelley Riley saddled Casual Lies to a second-place finish in 1992.
Rosie Napravnik was ninth aboard 8-1 second choice Pants On Fire in her bid to become the first female jockey to win.
Animal Kingdom is owned by Team Valor International, a partnership syndicate headed by Barry Irwin, a former writer for the Daily Racing Form, the industry’s bible.
Irwin decided to switch riders when Albarado took Friday off to recuperate.
“It was a tough call because I like Robby. He’s won a lot of races for us, but we got 20 partners in this horse,” Irwin said.
