Brian Hernandez Jr. has ridden into the record books.
The Lafayette native rode Mystik Dan to a win at the 150th Kentucky Derby, in a three-horse photo finish. Mystik Dan, who had 18-1 odds to win the race, held off a late charge by both Sierra Leone and Forever Young to win the race.
It is the first victory in any of the Triple Crown races for Hernandez and only the 10th time that the Kentucky Derby winner won by a nose.
This year’s “Run for the Roses” purse stood at $5 million, with the winner receiving $3.1 million.
Ken McPeek, the trainer of Mystik Dan, was pleased with his jockey even while waiting for the results to be official.
“I mean, just a brilliant, brilliant, brilliant jockey in-ride,” McPeek said on the NBC broadcast. “Brian’s amazing. Probably one of the most underrated riders in racing. But not anymore.”
“This is unbelievable,” Hernandez said shortly after finding out Mystik Dan had won. “That was the longest few minutes I’ve ever felt in my life, waiting for them to hang that number up … It’s hard to put into words.”
Hernandez and Mystik Adam will look to win the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes, will be run on May 18 in Baltimore.