Oxbow steals Preakness as Orb struggles home fourth

Oxbow steals Preakness as Orb struggles home fourth

Kentucky Derby winner Orb was heavily favored to win Saturday's $1 million Preakness at Pimlico, middle jewel of the Triple Crown, but at the conclusion of the 1 3/16-mile classic it was Oxbow, another colt with legendary connections, who ended Orb's quest to become the first Triple Crown winner since 1978.
Poised for the Preakness, Kentucky Derby winner Orb has racing world buzzing about Triple Crown potential

If the Kentucky Derby was a coming-out party for Orb, the fabulously talented winner of five consecutive races, it was also an unveiling for his rider, Joel Rosario, who in the space of just a few months has come to be recognized as the best jockey in North America.
Orb's powerful finish a fitting finale to Kentucky Derby 139

The Kentucky Derby is the great equalizer. Sometimes the little guy wins – think Funny Cide or Mine That Bird – and sometimes the big guys get the prize. On Saturday at rainy Churchill Downs, a burgeoning star named Orb, owned by a pair of the sport's most prominent horsemen, handled by a Hall of Fame trainer, and ridden by the nation's leading jockey, splashed to a resounding and popular Derby victory.
Kentucky Derby Update - Sunday, May 5, 2013

“Sometimes I pinch myself and say, ‘Why does this happen to me?’ ” said McGaughey, noting how many talented horsemen never had the same opportunities that he has had. “When I got to really rolling, I remember many a day after we’d won a big race in New York, I’d be leaving and I’d think, ‘How lucky am I? Why is this happening to me?’ ”
Video Kentucky Derby 139 presented by Yum! Brands - Wrap up with Jill Byrne
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The Jockey Club
The "English" Derby
Video Kentucky Derby 139 presented by Yum! Brands - Get The Party Started!
Orb wins 139th Kentucky Derby before 151,616 at Churchill Downs

Trained by Shug McGaughey and ridden by Joel Rosario, Orb covered the mile and a quarter on a sloppy main track in 2:02.89. It was the first Kentucky Derby victory for McGaughey and Rosario.

The victory was worth $1,414,800 and improved Orb’s career earnings to $2,335,850 with a record of 8-5-0-1.

Orb is a Kentucky-bred son of Malibu Moon out of the Unbridled mare Lady Liberty.

Palace Malice led the field of 19 through uncontested fractions of :22.57, :45.33 and 1:09.80 as Rosario kept Orb toward the back of the pack.
Video 2013 Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands Replay
Kentucky Derby 139 presented by Yum! Brands - The Winner's Circle
Video Kentucky Derby 139 Garland of Roses walk to the winner's circle
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Derby fixtures share a slew of stories: Kentucky Derby 139 the latest chapter for these Churchill Downs familiar faces

Among the more than 151,000 assembled today at Churchill Downs were some old friends of the Kentucky Derby – a mutuel clerk who's been punching tickets for half a century, an acclaimed photographer who's been a fixture since Bold Forbes upset Honest Pleasure 37 years ago, and an elevator operator who in her nine years here has made a legion of friends to last a lifetime.
Kentucky Derby 139 presented by Yum! Brands - The Race
Orb gives McGaughey, Janney and Phipps emotional first Derby

Though the rains came early on Kentucky Derby Day, it wasn't enough to dampen the spirits of Lexington native Shug McGaughey as the veteran horseman and Hall of Famer watched his colt Orb come running late over the sloppy, sealed Churchill Downs oval to score a decisive 2 1/2-length victory in Derby 139.

It was the first Derby win for the trainer, jockey Joel Rosario and the homebred Orb's owners, longtime industry stalwarts Stuart S. Janney III and Phipps Stables.
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