BloodHorse staff members recently voted on the best races of 2024.
The Top 10 countdown started Dec. 20 and will run until Dec. 31, when the staff's choice for "Race of the Year" will be announced.
And now, here's No. 2:
The Kentucky Derby (G1), May 4 at Churchill Downs
How it played out
At the moment, the 1944 Carter Handicap remains the only American stakes that featured a triple-dead-heat for the win spot.
But it almost had company
On the first Saturday of May, no less.
Extend the noses of the second- and third-place finishers by a few inches and the 150th Kentucky Derby would have been historic for a reason other than turning a century-and-a-half old.
Although the Run for the Roses had been decided by a nose before, the 2024 edition saw three horses battle to the wire just inches apart in an epic finish that created doubt over who won and who was second. It was Mystik Dan who held on by a nose over Sierra Leone with Japan's Forever Young another nose back in third, raising the bar for thrilling Triple Crown finishes.
The serious running in the Kentucky Derby began midway on the final turn after 41-1 longshot Track Phantom carved out quick early fractions of :22.97 and :46.63 in the 1 1/4-mile classic, helping the closers in the field. Trained by Ken McPeek, Mystik Dan raced in eighth after the opening quarter-mile and had a line of horses in front of him on the final turn. But that all changed when Brian Hernandez Jr. saw a small opening along the rail and urged the 3-year-old son of Goldencents through it.
Accelerating quickly, Mystik Dan grabbed a half-length lead at the quarter pole and then surged to a two-length margin in mid-stretch.
But any thoughts that the race was over disappeared when Sierra Leone and Forever Young charged into the picture in the final furlong.
Sierra Leone was 18th in the field of 20 at one point and moved into contention while rallying eight wide. Inside of him, Forever Young, who was unbeaten at the time, gained ground in a manner that gave hope that Japan would secure its initial Kentucky Derby victory.
As they closed in on Mystik Dan, Sierra Leone and Forever Young exchanged bumps but kept narrowing the gap between them and the leader.
In the final few strides there was doubt that Mystik Dan could hold on. But as the trio crossed the finish line in a blanket finish, he did indeed prevail at 18-1 odds to give McPeek his first Kentucky Derby win. Another nose decided the place spot in a race that evoked wows for its finish and controversy for the bumpy stretch run.
For all of the drama and excitement the Kentucky Derby usually generates, edition No. 150 pumped them up to levels that will be long remembered.
The victory was also a homegrown success story, as Mystik Dan is owned by Lance Gasaway, 4 G Racing, Daniel Hamby III, and Valley View Racing and was bred by Gasaway, Hamby, and 4 G Racing in Kentucky.
Quotable
Ken McPeek, trainer of Mystik Dan: "We went into the race optimistic and confident, but it was a tough race. But when Brian cut the corner and was two lengths ahead at the eighth pole, it was a goosebumps moment. I'm like, 'OK, OK, we got a real shot here.' He fought to the wire and it was magical day."
Chad Brown, trainer of Sierra Leone: "The Kentucky Derby was one of our most exciting races but unfortunately the result was not what we hoped for. Once again we saw how the Kentucky Derby is one of the most difficult races in the world to win. We ran a horse that was certainly good enough to win and still couldn't quite get there, which proves how difficult it is."
Impact
Mystik Dan finished second in the Preakness Stakes (G1) but was then unplaced in the Belmont Stakes (G1) and Malibu Stakes (G1), knocking him out of consideration for an Eclipse Award. Sierra Leone, who won the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) and was third in the Belmont and Travers (G1) stakes, is locked in a tight contest with Fierceness for the prize as champion 3-year-old male.
Notable
McPeek is one of five active trainers who have captured all three legs of the Triple Crown, joining Bob Baffert, D. Wayne Lukas, Nick Zito, and Barclay Tagg ... It is the 10th time the Kentucky Derby has been decided by a nose and first for that margin since 1996.
The Top 10 countdown started Dec. 20 with No. 10, the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T), followed by No. 9, the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T), No. 8, the Ogden Phipps Stakes (G1), the Preakness Stakes (G1) and the Kentucky Oaks (G1). tied at No. 6, No. 5, the Jaipur Stakes (G1T), and No. 4, the Belmont Stakes (G1), No. 3., Breeders' Cup Classic (G1).
