Despite the rain and massive amount of mud, the oddsmakers’ favorite Justify won the 2018 Kentucky Derby.
The horse found himself running alongside the 49-1 long shot Promises Fulfilled through the first half of the race but ahead on the back half and never looked back.
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Justify entered the race on a 5-2 odds, and became the first horse in 136 years to win the Derby despite having not competed as a 2-year-old. Fans watching along at home were amazed by the young horse’s impressive outing.
Well that was pretty dang impressive. #Justify
— John (@takingthebus) May 5, 2018
What a wonderful run by an incredible horse – #Justify. Wish my father was here to watch the #KentuckyDerby2018 as it was an annual thing for us. He would have loved this horse and race today.
— Debra Isaacs Schafer (@EdNavigation) May 5, 2018
Congratulations to #Justify, Secretariat’s 4x great grandson (on both sides). Well done! 💦 https://t.co/lOegj745r0
— Secretariat (@SECRETARIATofcl) May 5, 2018
Kentucky derby winner jockey Mike Smith’s first words at the end of the race were “I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Amen. I hope Justify wins the triple crown this year. #Justify #KentuckyDerby
— Andrew Redding (@livebygrace7) May 5, 2018
Absolute beast. #Justify is kitchen clean in one of the sloppiest #KentuckyDerby races ever. Looked eeeeeasy. Wow! Congrats Bob Baffert and Mike Smith!
— Chris Fowler (@cbfowler) May 5, 2018
History made at Churchill Downs…this horse is special. #JUSTIFY
— Amy Nesse (@HorseGirlAmy) May 5, 2018
Start to finish, a champion- not a drop of mud on #justify as he takes the #Kentuckyderby field on a #muddy #ride @KentuckyDerby pic.twitter.com/CtfUiTJuid
— Phaedriatica (@Phaedriatica) May 5, 2018
“Well that was pretty dang impressive,” one user wrote.
“What a wonderful run by an incredible horse – [Justify]. Wish my father was here to watch the [Kentucky Derby 2018] as it was an annual thing for us. He would have loved this horse and race today,” wrote another.
“Congratulations to [Justify], Secretariat’s 4x great grandson (on both sides). Well done!” the account for former triple crown winner Secretariat wrote.
“Kentucky derby winner jockey Mike Smith’s first words at the end of the race were ‘I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.’ Amen. I hope Justify wins the triple crown this year,” a user wrote, commenting on jockey Mike Smith’s first words after winning his second career Derby.
“Absolute beast. [Justify] is kitchen clean in one of the sloppiest [Kentucky Derby] races ever. Looked eeeeeasy. Wow! Congrats Bob Baffert and Mike Smith!” sports reporter Chris Fowler tweeted.
“History made at Churchill Downs…this horse is special,” a user wrote, pointing out the monstrous streak Justify broke with his win.
