The 2002 Kentucky Derby was the 128th running of the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

. The race took place on May 4, 2002, and 145,033 people were in attendance. The race was won by

War Emblem War Emblem (February 20, 1999 – March 11, 2020) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2002 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. Background War Emblem was bred by Charles Nuckols Jr. & Sons in Kentucky. His sire was O ...

who led from start to finish.

Race description

The field was considered evenly matched, especially after the scratch of Buddha, who had won the

Wood Memorial The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. It is run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. The Wood Memoria ...

. The favorite was

Harlan's Holiday Harlan's Holiday (April 6, 1999 – November 1, 2013) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won three Grade 1 stakes before retiring to stud where he had become a successful sire. Background Harlan's Holiday was a bay horse bred by Double ...

, who had won both the

Florida Derby The Florida Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Since 2005, it has been run five weeks before the Kentucky Derby, which is held on the first Saturd ...

and

Blue Grass Stakes The Blue Grass Stakes, currently the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes due to sponsorship by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is a horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. The race is run ...

. He went off at odds of 6-1, then the longest starting price for a favorite in Derby history.

Medaglia d'Oro The Gold Medal of Military Valour ( it, Medaglia d'oro al valor militare) is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia for deeds of outstanding gallantry in war by junior officers and soldiers. The fac ...

and Saarland, who had finished second and fourth in the Wood Memorial respectively, went off at odds of 7-1.

was a relative longshot at odds of 20-1, despite having won the

Illinois Derby The Illinois Derby is a race for Thoroughbred horses for three year olds run over a distance of one and one-eighth miles (9 furlongs) on the dirt at Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney/Cicero, Illinois, just west of Chicago in early April each year. ...

in frontrunning fashion on April 6. Shortly after that race, he was purchased by The Thoroughbred Corporation (owned by Saudi Prince Ahmed Salman) and was put into training with

Bob Baffert Robert A. Baffert (born January 13, 1953) is an American racehorse trainer who trained the 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify. Baffert's horses have won a record six Kentucky Derbies, seven Preakne ...

. Baffert trained the colt aggressively to build up his stamina, and quipped, "If this horse wins the Derby, it will be the best and shortest training job ever." As expected, War Emblem went to the early lead, running the first quarter-mile in 23.25 seconds and the half in :47.04. Jockey

Victor Espinoza Victor Espinoza (born May 23, 1972) is a Mexican jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing who won the Triple Crown in 2015 on American Pharoah. He began riding in his native Mexico and went on to compete at racetracks in California. He has wo ...

was then able to slow down the pace slightly as the colt maintained a lead of lengths down the backstretch and around the final turn. In the final furlong, War Emblem opened up his lead to four lengths under a hand ride. Espinoza said that he knew no one could catch them as the colt had been moving so easily. He completed the miles in 2:01.13, then the seventh fastest Derby in history. Another longshot, Proud Citizen, finished second, resulting in an exacta payout of $1,300.80 for a $2 bet.

Results

Scratched: Buddha, Danthebluegrassman Source: Equibase Chart

Payout

;The 128th Kentucky Derby Payout Schedule * $2

Exacta Parimutuel betting or pool betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the Vigorish, "house-take" or "vigorish" are deducted, and payoff Odds#Gambling odds versus probabilities, odds a ...

: (5-13) Paid $1,300.80 * $2

Trifecta Trifecta A trifecta is a parimutuel bet placed on a horse race in which the bettor must predict which horses will finish first, second, and third, in the exact order. Known as a trifecta in the US and Australia, this is known as a tricast in t ...

: (5-13-3) Paid $18,373.20 * $1

Superfecta {{Wiktionary The superfecta is a type of wager in USA and Canada parimutuel betting in which the bettor, in order to win, must pick the first four finishers of a race in the correct sequence. This is even more unlikely than a successful wager in th ...

: (5-13-3-9) Paid $91,764.50

Subsequent racing careers

Several horses went on to record Grade I wins: * War Emblem – Preakness Stakes, Haskell Invitational * Perfect Drift – 2003 Stephen Foster Handicap * Medaglia d'Oro – Travers Stakes, 2003 Whitney Handicap, 2004 Donn Handicap * Request for Parole – 2004 United Nations Stakes * Came Home – Pacific Classic * Harlan's Holiday – 2003 Donn Handicap

Subsequent breeding careers

Medaglia d'Oro * Rachel Alexandra – 2009 Horse of the Year. Preakness Stakes, Kentucky Oaks, Haskell Invitational, Woodward Stakes * Songbird – 2015 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, 2016 Kentucky Oaks, Santa Anita Oaks, Coaching Club American Oaks * Plum Pretty – 2011 Kentucky Oaks, Cotillion, 2012 Apple Blossom * Vancouver – 2015 Golden Slipper * Talismanic - 2016 Breeders' Cup Turf Harlan's Holiday * Shanghai Bobby – Breeders' Cup Juvenile, Hopeful Stakes, Champagne Stakes * Into Mischief – CashCall Futurity Johannesburg * Scat Daddy – Champagne Stakes, Florida Derby * Strapping Groom – Forego Stakes Essence of Dubai * Dubai Majesty – Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint Sources
American Classic PedigreesEquibaseBlood-Horse Stallion RegisterRacing Post

References

{{Kentucky Derby

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

May 2002 sports events in the United States