The 2011 Kentucky Derby was the 137th 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 ...

, on May 7. The race was won by Animal Kingdom, ridden by

John Velazquez John R. Velazquez (born November 24, 1971) is a Puerto Rican jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. He began his career in Puerto Rico and moved to New York in 1990. In 2004 and 2005 he was the United States Champion Jockey by earnings and both ye ...

, trained by H. Graham Motion and owned by

Team Valor Team Valor Stable LLC is an American Thoroughbred horse racing stable based in Lake Worth, Florida. It was founded by Barry Irwin and Jeff Siegel who create partnerships (syndicates) with racing enthusiasts to race Thoroughbred horses at maj ...

. "ESPN Animal Kingdom wins 137th Derby" ESPN.go.com, May 7, 2011, webpage:
ESPN65
The race took place on Saturday, May 7, 2011, and was televised in the United States on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

television network A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or multichannel video programming distributo ...

. A record crowd of 164,858 was on hand at the track for the race.

Contenders

The leading contenders for the race were Dialed In (Holy Bull, Florida Derby), Uncle Mo (Breeders' Cup Juvenile), Nehro (second in the Arkansas Derby), Midnight Interlude (Santa Anita Derby) and Mucho Macho Man (Risen Star Stakes). Pants of Fire, winner of the Louisiana Derby and ridden by Rosie Napravnik, was bet down from odds of 20-1 on the morning line to 8-1 at post time. Animal Kingdom, coming into the race off of a win in the Spiral Stakes over Turfway Park's synthetic dirt course, was largely dismissed at 21-1.

Details

Shackleford (14) went to the early lead, setting moderate fractions of :23.24 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and :48.63 for the half. He was tracked by Comma to the Top, who tired after the first three-quarters of a mile were completed in 1:13.40, eventually finishing last. Nehro, who had rated a few lengths off the pace, made his move on the far turn and moved into the lead at the top of the stretch. Meanwhile, Animal Kingdom (16) had settled near the back of the back and was in tenth position going into the final turn. Moving four wide, he advanced into fifth place at the mile pole and closed steadily to win by lengths. Nehro (19) finished a neck in front of a late-closing Mucho Macho Man (13), with Shackleford hanging on for fourth. The winning jockey, John R. Velazquez, had recently switched to riding Animal Kingdom, after his prior horse,

Uncle Mo Uncle Mo (foaled March 10, 2008, in Kentucky) is an American champion Thoroughbred racehorse who went undefeated in his two-year-old season and was named the American Champion Two-Year-Old of 2010. However, his three-year-old season was disrupted ...

(former 2nd choice, 9-2), had been scratched earlier within the week.

Results

*Margins –

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 ...

, neck *Time – 2:02:04 *Track – Fast

Payout

;The 137th 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 ...

: (16–19) paid $329.80 * $2

Trifecta file:Trifecta.svg, Trifecta A trifecta is a parimutuel betting, 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 Austra ...

: (16–19-13) paid $3,952.40 * $2

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 ...

: (16–19-13-14) paid $48,126.00

Notable achievements

* Animal Kingdom became the first Kentucky Derby winner to have never previously raced on a dirt track. * Animal Kingdom became the first horse since Exterminator in 1918 to win the Derby with only four previous starts. * Animal Kingdom became the first horse since Needles in 1956 to win the race off a six-week layoff.

Subsequent Grade I wins

Several horses from the Derby went on to win at the Grade I level. * Animal Kingdom – 2013

Dubai World Cup The Dubai World Cup (Arabic: كأس دبي العالمي) is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and contested at the Meydan Racecourse (Arabic: ميدان) which in Arabic suggests a place wh ...

* Mucho Macho Man – 2013

Awesome Again Awesome Again (March 29, 1994December 15, 2020) was a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse and stallion. As a three-year-old, he won the Queen's Plate in Canada and the Jim Dandy Stakes in the United States. He was undefeated at age four ...

Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October o ...

* Shackleford –

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () on ...

, 2012

Metropolitan Handicap The Metropolitan Handicap, frequently called the "Met Mile", is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of one mile (8 furl ...

Clark Handicap The Clark Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late November at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Among the oldest races in the United States, it was first run in 1875, the year the racetrack opened for business. C ...

* Master of Hounds – 2013 Jebel Hatta (UAE) * Stay Thirsty –

Travers Stakes The Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Mid-Summer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds according to internation ...

, 2012

Cigar Mile Handicap The Cigar Mile Handicap is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three-years-old and older held in late November or early December at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. Typically New York's final Grade I thoroughbred st ...

Subsequent breeding careers

Leading progeny of participants in the 2011 Kentucky Derby are as follows. Mucho Macho Man * Mucho Gusto – Pegasus World Cup Shackleford - exported to South Korea in 2020 * Promises Fulfilled – H. Allen Jerkens Stakes Stay Thirsty * Mind Control – Hopeful Stakes, H. Allen Jerkens Stakes Dialed In *

Gunnevera Gunnevera (foaled February 28, 2014) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Orphaned from an early age, he became the leading juvenile earner from the first crop of Dialed In. He was a contender on the 2017 Road to the Kentucky Derby, winning th ...

– Fountain of Youth Stakes. second in Breeders Cup Classic and Travers Stakes Sources
American Classic PedigreesEquibaseBlood-Horse Stallion Register

References

External links

2011 Kentucky Derby

Photo of winning horse, Animal Kingdom
- from Bleacherreport.net
Photo in Winner's Circle, with the roses
- from TimesUnion.com {{Kentucky Derby Kentucky Derby races

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 2011 sports events in the United States