The horse entered the race with an 80-1 chance – the biggest contender in the field of 20 horses. And Rich Strike started derby week as a substitute and wasn’t added to the field until Friday, when another horse withdrew from the race.
“We came here to pray,” trainer Eric Reed said at a post-race press conference. “Anyone who is in this business can strike lightning.”
As the horses entered the final stretch of the race, Rich Strike was in the middle of the pack, but shot past front runners and betting favorites Epicenter and Zandon in the closing seconds of the race.
Epicenter and Zandon finished in second and third place respectively.
Reed said his team went to Louisville a few days before the derby, while they were still in alternate status, to prepare for the possible scenario that the horse would be in the race. Rich Strike started training “against all the odds, nobody thought we could get in,” Reed said.
“I couldn’t even breathe,” Reed said.
“This is… why everyone is doing this. We shouldn’t be here, but I knew this horse loved the track and he’s trained so well all year,” he said after the race. This is already the first winning horse in the derby.
“I was excited,” Leon said of his emotions before the race. “No one knows my horse like I know that horse.”
The next leg of the Triple Crown will be held on May 21 in Baltimore, Maryland.
Baffert claimed that an ointment used to treat dermatitis may have caused the positive test.
The first runner-up in that race, Mandaloun, was declared the winner.