LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The 150th Kentucky Derby resulted in one of the most dramatic finishes in its storied history: three noses to the wire.
Mystic Dan desperately held back in the final stages as two challengers closed in on him. He also crossed the finish line a few minutes later for the closest three-horse photo finish since 1947.
That year, Jet Pilot won by one head over Phalanx and one length over Faultless.
Mystic Dan, 18-1, edged out Sierra Leone by a nose on Saturday, with Forever Young back in third place by another nose.
As jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. pushed Mystic Dan out of a tight spot and reached the rail heading home, the bay colt suddenly switched gears. He took off on the descent and built a small lead.
“When he shot that spot, he was able to cut the corner, so I asked him to hit it,” Hernandez said. “When he hit the shot, I thought, 'Man, I have a great chance to win the Kentucky Derby.'
Mystic Dan got too close to the rail and Hernandez's boot hit the rail.
“But I think I can buy another pair of boots,” he said.
The winner's share of the record $5 million prize money was $3.1 million, with jockeys and trainers typically each receiving a 10 percent cut.
“It was just a great, great, great jockey and rider,” trainer Kenny McPeek said. “Brian is one of the most underrated jockeys, but that's not the case anymore, is it?”
Sierra Leone and Japan's Forever Young, the second pick at 9-2 odds, were in hot pursuit, closing the lead to the wire in front of 156,710 spectators at Churchill Downs, the largest crowd since 2018.
This was the 10th Kentucky Derby decided by a nose, the closest in horse racing, and the first since Grindstone beat Cavonnier in 1996 to wear a wreath of red roses.
The crowd waited several minutes in the humid heat for the results to be reviewed and made official by the stewards.
“It was the longest few minutes of my life,” Hernandez said after walking in a circle with Mystic Dan during the surprising outcome. “When you see the numbers skyrocketing towards winning the Derby, I don’t think that feeling will stick for a while.”
Fierce, a popular horse with 3 wins and 1 loss, finished 15th out of 20 3-year-old horses. Owner Mike Lepore has an 8-0 record in derbies. In 2011, Uncle Mo was the favorite, but he was scraped by illness the day before the race. Forte, who was named the favorite last year, suffered a bruise on his leg on the morning of the race.
Mystic Dan ran 1 1/4 miles in 2:03.34 on the fast course, earning prizes of $39.22, $16.32, and $10.
Hernandez and McPeek were looking for a wire win on Friday in the filly's Kentucky Oaks with Soaped Anna. McPeak becomes the first trainer to sweep both races since Ben Jones in 1952.
The winning owners were cousins Lance and Brent Gassaway, and Daniel Hamby III, all from Arkansas.
Sierra Leone returned $6.54 and $4.64. Forever Young was a nose further back in third place, paying $5.58 for the show.
Sierra Leone was in hot pursuit, bumping into Forever Young three times along the way, but jockey Ryusei Sakai claimed no foul.
4th place went to Catching Freedom, followed by TO Password of Japan, Resilience, Stronghold, Honor Marie, and Endlessly. Dornoch was 10th, followed by Truck Phantom, West Saratoga, Domestic, Epic Ride, Fierceness, Society Man, Just Steel, Grand Mosa First, Catalytic and Just Touch.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.