Kentucky Derby 2024 Video: Replay Highlights, Race Results and Breakdown

Jockey Joseph Hernandez Jr. on Mystik Dan win the 150th Kentucky DerbyMichael Reaves/Getty Images

Horse racing fans could hardly have asked for a more thrilling evening at the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby. While Fierceness and Sierra Leone came into Saturday as the top two favorites, it was Mystik Dan who won in a photo finish.

It wasn’t a photo finish in a hyperbolic sense, either, as jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. held Mystik Dan in the lead by mere inches at the wire.

Kentucky Derby @KentuckyDerbyAt the wire! Mystik Dan wins the 150th Kentucky Derby. pic.twitter.com/2aiutu2mWz

It was a stunning finish to an exciting race—and the richest in the storied history of the Kentucky Derby. The total prize pool, which was raised to $3 million in 2019, jumped to a whopping $5 million this year.

Mystik Dan, who was trained by Kenny McPeek and opened with 20-1 morning-line odds, wasn’t considered one of the early favorites. However, the horse, whose last win came at the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes in February, wasn’t completely overlooked.

“A rail-skimming ride on Derby Day from a jockey who knows Churchill Downs well? It’s happened before,” Ben Robert of the Lexington Herald-Leader wrote before the race.

That’s pretty much how things played out. Hernandez—who also won Friday’s Kentucky Oaks atop Thorpedo Anna—moved in front and masterfully held inside positing down the stretch. He had to hold off late charges from Sierra Leone and Forever Young to seal the victory, but the veteran jockey pulled it off.

NBC Sports @NBCSportsWOW. 😱

Mystik Dan WINS the 150th Kentucky Derby in a PHOTO FINISH! pic.twitter.com/N2jfd2TsKe

The late surge by Sierra Leone and jockey Tyler Gaffalione wasn’t unexpected. The Chad Brown-trained horse is a strong closer and was always going to try to stalk for the victory. However, most expected Sierra Leone to be chasing the blazing-fast Fierceness down the stretch.

“On his best day, (Fierceness) is in a league of his own,” Trainer Saffie Joseph said before the race, per Jason Frakes of the Louisville Courier Journal. “Sierra Leone is a very good horse, too. Different running style. Those two horses are the standouts. After that, basically, it becomes wide open.”

Wide open it was, and we nearly saw history, as Forever Young came within a few feet of becoming the first Japanese Horse to win the Kentucky Derby. T O Password, another Japanese mount, was the lone true dark horse to end up in the money.

Fierceness and jockey John Velazquez got the fast start for which they were hoping but faded dramatically near the end of the race to finish a disappointing 15th. Fierceness, of course, started from the 17th gate, a position that has still not produced a Derby winner.

TwinSpires Racing 🏇 @TwinSpires#3 Mystik Dan takes the 150th Kentucky Derby! #KentuckyDerby150 #KYDerby150

🎥 #TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/hYbi8AghlB

While Fierceness’ disappointing run—and perhaps his place in Derby superstition—were part of the story on Saturday, but it’s all about Mystik Dan and his team moving forward.

“Just a brilliant, brilliant, brilliant jockey and ride,” McPeek said after the race, per Frakes. “Probably one of the most underrated riders, but not anymore, right?”

The question for McPeek, Hernandez and the rest of the team now is whether they’ll continue pushing for the coveted Triple Crown. Mystik Dan did begin to fade before the finish line, and the final leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, is a quarter-mile longer than the Kentucky Derby.

Of course, any decision on the Belmont can wait. The Preakness Stakes are up next and scheduled to take place on May 18.

Final Order of Finish and Payouts

1. Mystik Dan – $3 million

2. Sierra Leone – $1 million

3. Forever Young – $500,000

4. Catching Freedom – $250,000

5. T O Password – $150,000

6. Resilience

7. Stronghold

8. Honor Marie

9. Endlessly

10. Dornoch

11. Track Phantom

12. West Saratoga

13. Domestic Product

14. Epic Ride

15. Fierceness

16. Society Man

17. Just Steel

18. Grand Mo The First

19. Catalytic

20. Just a Touch