Mike Smith rides Justify to victory during the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs Saturday, in Louisville, Ky. Darron Cummings/AP hide caption
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Darron Cummings/AP
Mike Smith rides Justify to victory during the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs Saturday, in Louisville, Ky.
Darron Cummings/AP
Updated at 7:40 p.m. ET
After a day of steady rain on Churchill Downs, it was Justify who managed cross the finish line first in the mud.
Justify brought home Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith a second Derby victory, on top of his and trainer Bob Baffert’s $2 million prize. Bafftert also seals his fifth Derby win.
Almost 3 inches of rain made for sloppy conditions at the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby.
Entering into the race, Justify was the favorite, with 5-2 odds, followed by Mendelssohn, 6-1, and My Boy Jack at 6-1.
Superstitious fans had been dreading the Apollo Curse. According to Sports Illustrated, no horse has won the race without starting as a 2-year-old since 1882 — when Apollo won the Kentucky Derby by defeating 4-5 favorite Runnymede.
Justify, with the best odds, and Magnum Moon, 13-1, had been the only candidates in the field eligible to break the 136-year-old curse.