The 134th Kentucky Derby

      

Big Brown and trainer, Richard Dutrow, Jr., waiting for the big race.

                  

Churchill Downs, Louisville, KY- Sight of The Kentucky Derby.

 

                                         

Racing fans stock up on mint juleps, the Derby's official drink.

 

                                            

There were lots of ladies in pretty dresses and big fancy hats, including Bo Derek and Chelsea Clinton who, of course, were found in Millionaire's Row.

                                           

Not all racing fans are rich celebrities or women in hats, as these fans prove.

                                        

Inside Churchill Downs racetrack, the anxious fans enjoyed the University of Louisville Marching Band's rendition of Stephen Foster's "Old Kentucky Home" as the horses were paraded in and past the grandstand.

                                                 

The race started!  They're off!

                                    

The race was definitely on!

 Almost at the finish line and Big Brown was in the lead!

              

  Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby!. 

 

                                          

The unbeaten Big Brown, one of 20 horses, wasn't hampered from his outside post start at Churchill Downs. Under the urging of jockey Kent Desormeaux, the 2-1 favorite cruised to an easy victory to become the seventh unbeaten Derby winner with his fourth consecutive win.

Big Brown covered the 1 1/4 miles in 2:01.82 in front of the second-largest crowd in Derby history at 157,770. He paid $6.80, $5 and $4.80.

The colt earned $1,451,800 for the win and boosted his earnings to $2,114,500 for owners IEAH Stables and Paul Pompa Jr. Pompa, who named Big Brown in honor of United Parcel Service, a client of his trucking business, sold a 75 percent interest in the colt to IEAH for about $3 million after his first race.

                                               

The cheers for the winner's 4 3/4-length victory were cut short when Eight Belles, the runner-up, collapsed while galloping out near the second turn. She broke her two front ankles and was euthanized on the track minutes later.

The tragedy undoubtedly drained some of the joy from Big Brown's victory, which sends him to the Preakness in two weeks as the only 3-year-old with a chance to become the first Triple Crown champion since Affirmed in 1978.

 Eight Belles paid $10.60 and $6.40, and Denis of Cork, who came in third place, at odds of 27-1, returned $11.60.

                          

Desormeaux won the Derby for the third time, having won aboard Real Quiet in 1998 and Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000. Only three other riders have won more — Eddie Arcaro, Bill Hartack and Bill Shoemaker.

All eyes were on Big Brown at the start. Dutrow called his colt the fastest of all and he proved it when Desormeaux gunned him close the lead on the mad dash to the first turn. Desormeaux did a masterful job of keeping Big Brown free and clear of any traffic issues.

As the field headed into the backstretch, Big Brown was in sixth place and just waiting for Desormeaux's signal to make his move. It came around the far turn, and Big Brown took the lead at the top of the stretch and was never challenged to the wire.

      

Ladies and gentlemen, this is Big Brown,

Winner of the 134th Kentucky Derby May 3, 2008!