The 148th running of the Kentucky Derby was won by Rich Strike at Louisville’s storied Churchill Downs. The horse had odds of 80-1 to win the race. It’s one of the most shocking results in the race’s history. Second place went to Epicenter (4-1), third to Zandon (6-1), and fourth to Simplification (35-1). To celebrate his victory, Rich Strike received a cool $1.86 million in winnings. It was Sonny Leon who rode the victorious horse to victory. On Friday, the horse had only started the race. Everyone engaged in the 2022 Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike made a fortune. One of the most improbable victory in the Derby’s history was the horse who entered the field on Friday after Ethereal Road was scratched and raced down the inside of the course.
On the Derby lines, Rich Strike finished with 80-1 odds. Upon his entry into the 20-horse field, he had odds of 99-1. His owners, Eric Reed and jockey Sonny Leon, won the $1.8 million purse for the long shot. Reed and Leon had their first Derby win. At Churchill Downs, Rich Strike outpaced two favorite horses in the closing few strides. After being passed by the long-shot winner, Epicenter and Zandon finished second and third.
Rich Strike, trained by Eric Reed, pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Kentucky Derby history by winning the 148th running of the race. One minute and twenty-two seconds later, Rich Strike crossed the line in first place, clocking in with a time of 2:02.61. Since the current starting gate system was implemented in 1930, only two horses, Big Brown in 2008 and this chestnut colt, have won the Kentucky Derby from the 20th post position: It was Rich Strike’s second-longest shot to win in Derby history, according to the NBC telecast, with an 80-1 odds. Some of the other favorites, like Epicenter, who had the greatest odds and finished second in the race, were beaten by Reed’s horse.
