Medina Spirit wins Kentucky Derby 147, giving Baffert record seventh victory

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Medina Spirit and jockey John Velasquez led wire to wire to win Kentucky Derby 147 by a half-length, a record-breaking seventh victory for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.

"I can’t believe he won," Baffert said at least five times as he and his wife, Jill, walked from the paddock to the track after Medina Spirit went off at 12-1 from the No. 8 post and finished with a time of 2:01.02. Baffert has now won back-to-back Derbies; he tied trainer Ben Jones with his sixth career victory in 2020 with Authentic.

Medina Spirit never gave ground despite several competitors’ attempts, including a late outside surge by 5-2 favorite Essential Quality entering the stretch to create a four-wide sprint.

Velazquez earned his second consecutive Derby victory and fourth overall. He is the first jockey to win back-to-back Derbies since Victor Espinoza in 2014-15 and also completed the Kentucky Oaks-Derby double for the first time since 2009, having won the race for fillies on Friday.

Bob Baffert hugs John Velasquez after Velasquez and Medina Spirit won Kentucky Derby 147 on Saturday, May 1, 2021, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. (WDRB photo)

Mandaloun, who had 25-1 odds, placed second. Hot Rod Charlie finished third after going off at 5-1.

Essential Quality, who is trained by Louisville native Brad Cox, finished fourth.

Medina Spirit with John Velazquez aboard leads the field around the first turn — Medina Spirit, right, with John Velazquez aboard, leads the field around the first turn on the way to winning the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, Saturday, May 1, 2021, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Here are the payouts:

Medina Spirit $26.20 $12.00 $7.60
Mandaloun $23.00 $13.40
Hot Rod Charlie $5.20
Essential Quality
O Besos
Midnight Bourbon
Keepmeinmind
Helium
Known Agenda
Highly Motivated
Sainthood
Like The King
Bourbonic
Hidden Stash
Brooklyn Strong
Super Stock
Rock Your World
Dynamic One
Soup And Sandwich

Kentucky Derby 147 results and payouts from https://t.co/ubX4zfLhWH below. Click image for full details. pic.twitter.com/WMwqiabhjx
— Chris Turner (@ChrisTurnerWDRB) May 1, 2021

The race put an exclamation point on a celebration of horse racing. Only eight months ago, Authentic won Kentucky Derby 146 in front of a mostly empty grandstand at Churchill Downs.

Although the crowd of 51,838 was far fewer than the 150,729 that attended two years ago, it was the largest gathering for any sports even in the U.S. in the last 14 months, topping the 47,218 that attended Alabama’s spring football game on April 17.

The celebrity count was down (other than Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers; Bucs quarterback Tom Brady; Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim; Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy and a few others) but the color and crazy outfits returned to Central Avenue.

The novel coronavirus scrambled the entire 2020 racing calendar. With the Derby pushed back from the first Saturday in May to the first Saturday in September, the Derby was the second race in the Triple Crown, following the Belmont Stakes, which held its traditional spot in June. The Preakness finished the 2020 series Oct. 3.