Who is Rich Strike Horse?
Rich Strike is a racing horse owned by RED TR-Racing. During the Kentucky Derby, Sonny Leon was it’s jockey and rode the Rich Strike, the horse.
Eric Reed was Rich Strike’s trainer.
How Rich Strike Horse Won Kentucky Derby
Rich Strike, who was positioned #21, replaced Ethereal Road, who scratched on Friday, and won the race. The favorite, Epicenter, came in second, while Zandon came in third.
Rich Strike was guided by Leon from the rear of the 20-horse race to finish first ahead of Epicenter and Zandon.
Quite a shot On a cold and overcast Saturday at Churchill Downs, Rich Strike won the 148th Kentucky Derby.
The win is one of the most surprising in Kentucky Derby history, as little was expected of a horse who started at 80-1 odds. Rich Strike is the second-longest longshot to ever win the Kentucky Derby, according to NBC.
Only Donerail, with 91-1 odds, won the Kentucky Derby in 1913.
Epicenter, the favorite at post time, crossed the line behind Rich Strike, followed by Zandon, Simplification, and Mo Donegal.
Rich Strike is a racing horse owned by RED TR-Racing. During the Kentucky Derby, Sonny Leon was it’s jockey and rode the Rich Strike, the horse.
Sonny Leon was the jockey on Rich Strike. Leon steered Rich Strike to victory ensuring the prize money of $1.86 million will be clinched. Rich Strike’s triumph was the biggest upset since Donerail’s 91-1 long shot victory in 1913.
Rich Strike’s owner, Rick Dawson, found out his horse would race in the Derby just 30 seconds before the entry deadline on Friday morning. Rich Strike, whose owner and trainer had already made plans to begin training for the Belmont Stakes this weekend in New York, benefited from Ethereal Road’s scratch.
Eric R. Reed, who has never trained a Derby horse, is in charge of Rich Strike. The horse had only run seven times before being entered into the event on Friday, after Ethereal Road had dropped out.
Rich Strike was taken by jockey Sonny Leon from the back of the 20-horse field to finish second to favorite Epicenter and Zandon. Rich Strike surged down the stretch, passing the leaders and clocking a 2:02.61 mile.
Rich Strike didn’t even make it into the Derby field until Friday, when Ethereal Road was pulled to make place for Eric Reed’s colt. Leon and Reed were both competing in their maiden Derby.
Apart from the astounding winner, the Kentucky Derby was back to normal following the COVID-19 pandemic. The race was moved to September in 2020, and it was held in front of a small crowd in 2021.
Despite the cloudy 58-degree temperature, spectators returned in droves to Churchill Downs this year.
It wasn’t, however, a typical Derby Day. After Medina Spirit — who would’ve been his record seventh winner — tested positive for the anti-inflammatory betamethasone eight days after last year’s race, Bob Baffert, who has won this race six times, was not allowed to compete.
For the time being, a lengthy court battle that lasted several months has upheld Churchill’s two-year punishment of Baffert as well as Medina Spirit’s disqualification. Taiba and Messier, two horses that started their careers with Baffert, were shifted to the barn of Tim Yakteen, a former Baffert assistant who had never started a horse in the Derby before Saturday.
However, bettors backed Taiba and Messier, who placed second and third in the Santa Anita Derby, and they were the second and third picks in the race with odds of 5-1 and 6-1, respectively.
Amr Zedan, who also campaigned for Medina Spirit, owns Taiba.
What Were the Rich Strike Horse Odds?
Rich Strike had 80-1 odds to win. The horse did not enter the field until Friday morning, when Ethereal Road scratched.
Eric R. Reed trained the 3-year-old thoroughbred, which was owned by RED TR-Racing, LLC and ridden by jockey Sonny Leon.
Rich Strike finished the course in 2.02.61.
