The 2016 Kentucky Derby was the 142nd 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 was run at 6:51 pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on May 7, 2016 at

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was ...

. The race was broadcast in the United States on the NBC television network. The second largest attendance of 167,227 was on hand for the event.

Qualification

The Kentucky Derby is a race for 3-year-old Thoroughbred horses. The 2016 field was determined by the Road to the Kentucky Derby points system that was first introduced in 2013.

Field

The Post Position Draw of the entries for the Kentucky Derby was held Wednesday, May 4, 2016 at the Churchill Downs Racetrack clubhouse. After the draw was made, the undefeated Nyquist was installed as the 3–1

morning line Glossary of North American horse racing: Additional glossaries at: *Glossary of Australian and New Zealand punting *Glossary of equestrian terms This is a basic glossary of equestrian terms that includes both technical terminology and jargon ...

favorite. In spite of having been undefeated in his seven previous races and having already defeated several of the other entries, including second-favorite Exaggerator, Nyquist was viewed as vulnerable, in part because of the statistical improbability of the race favorite winning for four years in a row. Pundits also noted the unusual number of gray horses in the field, four in total and three of them sons of Tapit, a gray

stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

who is ranked as the leading sire in America.

Race description

At the start, Danzing Candy quickly took the lead and held onto it for until fading. The favorite, Nyquist, broke well and stayed close to the leaders, no farther back than third throughout the race. At the top of the stretch, Gun Runner, who had been running second or third throughout, briefly took the lead but was quickly surpassed by Nyquist. Exaggerator, who had started well back in 15th place, closed fast at the end. Nyquist held him off to win the race by

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...

. Nyquist was the eighth undefeated winner in Kentucky Derby history, the first since

Big Brown Big Brown may refer to: * Big Brown (horse), an American thoroughbred racehorse * Big brown bat, an North American bat * Big Brown, a nickname for the delivery company United Parcel Service * Big Brown Box, an Australian online retailer *Big Brown ...

in 2008. The last horse to have been undefeated in seven races prior to winning the Derby was Majestic Prince in 1969.

Results

*Track – Fast Times: mile – 0:22.58; mile – 0:45.72; mile – 1:10.40; mile – 1:36.51; final – 2:01.31.
Splits for each quarter-mile: (:22.58) (:23.14) (:24.68) (:25.21) (:25.70) Source: Equibase chart

Payout

The Kentucky Derby Payout Schedule * $2 Exacta: (13–11) $30.80 * $1 Trifecta: (13–11–5) $86.70 * $1 Superfecta: (13–11–5–14) $542.10 * $1 Super Hi 5 (Pentafecta): (13–11–5–14–2) $5,794.50

Subsequent Grade I wins

Although Nyquist never won another race, several other horses from the Derby went on to win at the Grade I level: * Exaggerator – Preakness Stakes, Haskell Invitational * Gun Runner – Clark Handicap, 2017 Stephen Foster Handicap, Whitney Stakes, Woodward Stakes, Breeders' Cup Classic, 2018 Pegasus World Cup * Mor Spirit – 2017 Metropolitan Handicap * Creator –

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

* Whitmore – 2018

Forego Stakes The Forego Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for horses four years old and older over the distance of seven furlongs on the dirt, scheduled annually in August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The event curr ...

, 2020 Breeders' Cup Sprint

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kentucky Derby, 2016 2016 in horse racing Derby

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

May 2016 sports events in the United States