Rich Strike was in the middle of the pack as the horses entered the final stretch, but the horse surged past front-runners and betting favorites Epicenter and Zandon, which finished in second and third place respectively.
Rich Strike began derby week as an alternate and was not added to the field until Friday when another horse pulled out of the race.
Venezuelan jockey Sonny Leon, riding in his first Kentucky Derby, drove Rich Strike to the surprise victory and the $1.86 million winner’s purse.
The next leg of horse racing’s triple crown will be run at the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore, Maryland, on May 21.
Dubbed the “Greatest Two Minutes in Sports” — a nod to its approximate run time — the Derby is the first race in US horse racing’s coveted Triple Crown, which also includes the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes.
