2011 Kentucky Derby

137th Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
Official logo for the 2011 Kentucky Derby
LocationChurchill Downs
DateMay 7, 2011
Winning horseAnimal Kingdom
Winning time2:02.04
Starting price21-1
JockeyJohn R. Velazquez
TrainerH. Graham Motion
OwnerTeam Valor International
ConditionsFast
SurfaceDirt
Attendance164,858
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The 2011 Kentucky Derby was the 137th running of the Kentucky Derby, on May 7. The race was won by Animal Kingdom, ridden by John Velazquez, trained by H. Graham Motion and owned by Team Valor.[1]

The race took place on Saturday, May 7, 2011, and was televised in the United States on the NBC television network.[2]

A record crowd of 164,858 was on hand at the track for the race.[3]

Contenders

The leading contenders for the race were Dialed In[4] (Holy Bull, Florida Derby), Uncle Mo[5] (Breeders' Cup Juvenile), Nehro[6] (second in the Arkansas Derby), Midnight Interlude[7] (Santa Anita Derby) and Mucho Macho Man[8] (Risen Star Stakes). Pants of Fire, winner of the Louisiana Derby and ridden by Rosie Napravnik, was bet down from odds of 20–1 on the morning line to 8–1 at post time.[9] Animal Kingdom, coming into the race off of a win in the Spiral Stakes over Turfway Park's synthetic dirt course, was largely dismissed at 21–1.[10]

Details

Shackleford (#14) went to the early lead, setting moderate fractions of :23.24 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and :48.63 for the half. He was tracked by Comma to the Top, who tired after the first three-quarters of a mile were completed in 1:13.40, eventually finishing last. Nehro, who had rated a few lengths off the pace, made his move on the far turn and moved into the lead at the top of the stretch. Meanwhile, Animal Kingdom (#16) had settled near the back of the back and was in tenth position going into the final turn. Moving four wide, he advanced into fifth place at the mile pole and closed steadily to win by 2+3⁄4 lengths. Nehro (#19) finished a neck in front of a late-closing Mucho Macho Man (#13), with Shackleford hanging on for fourth.[11]

The winning jockey, John R. Velazquez, had recently switched to riding Animal Kingdom, after his prior horse, Uncle Mo (former 2nd choice, 9–2), had been scratched earlier within the week.[12]

Results

Finish Post Horse name Trainer Jockey Opening odds (to 1) Final odds[13] Winnings
1 16 Animal Kingdom H. Graham Motion John R. Velazquez 30 20.9 $1,411,800
2 19 Nehro Steve Asmussen Corey Nakatani 6 8.5 $400,000
3 13 Mucho Macho Man Katherine Ritvo Rajiv Maragh 12 9.3 $200,000
4 14 Shackleford Dale L. Romans Jesus Castanon 12 23 $100,000
5 11 Master of Hounds Aidan O'Brien Garrett K. Gomez 30 16 $60,000
6 12 Santiva Eddie Kenneally Shaun Bridgmohan 30 34
7 2 Brilliant Speed Thomas Albertrani Joel Rosario 30 27
8 8 Dialed In Nick Zito Julien Leparoux 4 5
9 7 Pants On Fire Kelly Breen Rosie Napravnik 20 8
10 3 Twice the Appeal Jeff Bonde Calvin Borel 20 11
11 17 Soldat Kiaran McLaughlin Alan Garcia 12 11
12 4 Stay Thirsty Todd Pletcher Ramon A. Dominguez 20 17
13 9 Derby Kitten Michael J. Maker Javier Castellano 30 36
14 5 Decisive Moment Juan D. Arias Kerwin Clark 30 39
15 1 Archarcharch William H. Fires Jon Court 10 12
16 15 Midnight Interlude Bob Baffert Victor Espinoza 10 9
17 10 Twinspired Michael J. Maker Mike E. Smith 30 32
18 20 Watch Me Go Kathleen O'Connell Rafael Bejarano 50 33
19 6 Comma To The Top Peter Miller Pat Valenzuela 30 35
(scratched)[14] 18 Uncle Mo Todd Pletcher John R. Velazquez (rode Animal Kingdom) 4.5
  • Margins – 2+3⁄4 lengths, neck
  • Time – 2:02:04
  • Track – Fast

Payout

The 137th Kentucky Derby Payout Schedule
Program
Number 		Horse Name
 Win
 Place
 Show
16 Animal Kingdom $43.80 $19.60 $13.00
19 Nehro - $8.80 $6.40
13 Mucho Macho Man - - $7.00

Notable achievements

  • Animal Kingdom became the first Kentucky Derby winner to have never previously raced on a dirt track.[3]
  • Animal Kingdom became the first horse since Exterminator in 1918 to win the Derby with only four previous starts.[3]
  • Animal Kingdom became the first horse since Needles in 1956 to win the race off a six-week layoff.[3]

Subsequent Grade I wins

Several horses from the Derby went on to win at the Grade I level.

Subsequent breeding careers

Leading progeny of participants in the 2011 Kentucky Derby are as follows.

Mucho Macho Man

Shackleford - exported to South Korea in 2020[17]

  • Promises Fulfilled – H. Allen Jerkens Stakes

Stay Thirsty

  • Mind Control – Hopeful Stakes, H. Allen Jerkens Stakes

Dialed In

  • Gunnevera – Fountain of Youth Stakes. second in Breeders Cup Classic and Travers Stakes

Sources: American Classic Pedigrees, Equibase, Blood-Horse Stallion Register

See also

References

  1. ^ "ESPN Animal Kingdom wins 137th Derby" ESPN.go.com, May 7, 2011, webpage: ESPN65[dead link‍].
  2. ^ Bossert, Jerry (May 4, 2011). "137th Kentucky Derby: Complete field including post, horse, jockey, trainer, odds at Churchill Downs". NY Daily News. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d Bailey, Steve (May 7, 2011). "Velazquez roars to Derby triumph aboard Animal Kingdom". Thoroughbred Times. Archived from the original on May 13, 2011. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
  4. ^ "Dialed In". www.equibase.com. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  5. ^ "Uncle Mo". www.equibase.com. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  6. ^ "Nehro". www.equibase.com. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Midnight Interlude". www.equibase.com. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Mucho Macho Man". www.equibase.com. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Pants on Fire". www.equibase.com. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Animal Kingdom". www.equibase.com. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Chart of the 2011 Kentucky Derby". www.equibase.com. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  12. ^ Network, Sports. "Uncle Mo scratched from the Kentucky Derby - Horse Racing". MiamiHerald.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  13. ^ a b c d "11th Race, Churchill Downs, May 7, 2011" (PDF). drf.com. Daily Racing Form. 2011-05-07. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-09. Retrieved 2011-05-09.
  14. ^ Van Valkenburg, Kevin (May 6, 2011). "Kentucky Derby 2011: Uncle Mo is scratched, leaving race wide open and lacking star power". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
  15. ^ "Master of Hounds". www.equibase.com. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  16. ^ "Stay Thirsty". www.equibase.com. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  17. ^ "Shackleford Sold to Stand at Stud in Korea". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
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