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"This is real, I won the Kentucky Derby": Venezuelan jockey Sonny León on his amazement at making horse racing history

2022-05-10T03:24:11.729Z


León gave one of the biggest surprises in the 148 years of the competition when Rich Strike, an underdog, came in first place. The Venezuelan spoke with Noticias Telemundo about how that day was for him and his family, to whom he dedicated the award.


If Kentucky Derby spectators were hoping for a return to normality, they got insane on Saturday when horse Rich Strike won at Churchill Downs at odds of 80-1.

It was the highest bet on Saturday.

As favorites Epicenter and Zandon dueled up front, Rich Strike stole the show, becoming the second big upset in the competition's 148-year history.

"I saw like 15-16 videos of the Kentucky Derby and at that moment I knew that I had a very difficult position, very complicated and

with a little bit of luck it was the only way I could overcome that position

," said Sonny León, the Venezuelan jockey who rode the winning horse, in an interview with Noticias Telemundo.

Sonny León celebrated his victory in the Kentucky Derby on May 7, 2022, in Louisville, Kentucky. Charlie Neibergall / AP

The sorrel colt beat the favorite Epicenter by three-quarters of a length.

Zandon finished in third place.

Rich Strike paid out $163.60 for every dollar wagered.

Only Donerail, in 1913, had a higher payout of 184.90.

"What a crazy Derby," said trainer Kenny McPeek, whose horses finished eighth and ninth.

They confirm that the winning horse of the Kentucky Derby ran under the influence of a prohibited substance

June 3, 202100:29

Rich Strike wasn't even in the Derby until Friday, when Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas pulled Ethereal Road, making room for the bay colt who had only won once in his career.

We were the last to be the first"

sonny lion rider venezuelan

"We were last to be first. When I passed Epicenter, one of the race favorites, I was like, 'Wow, I did it, I won it.' people, the screaming and I said,

'Yes, this is real: I won the Kentucky Derby

,'" Leon said in the interview

At first, jockey Sonny León and Rich Strike had only beaten two horses.

But Leon guided his mount through the horses to the inside rail, then got Rich Strike to make a deft move around Messier down the stretch and headed for the rail, intent on taking out Epicenter and Zandon.

Sonny León celebrating after winning the 148th edition of the Kentucky Derby on May 7, 2022, in Louisville, Kentucky. Jeff Roberson / AP

"It was the first time I took my daughter to see a horse race.

I took her to see her father participate in the Kentucky Derby and look at the surprise that God gave us

," León expressed, visibly moved.

It was the first Derby for Leon and Reed, who suffered tragedy five years ago when he lost nearly two dozen horses in a barn fire at his Lexington training facility.

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For a moment he thought the fire might be a signal for him to quit the sport.

“People I hadn't seen, people I hadn't talked to in years, and my best friends were there in the morning to help me. make him resign," Reed recalled.

[The horse Medina Spirit, winner of the 2021 Kentucky Derby, fails an anti-doping test: it tests positive for an anti-inflammatory]

Rich Strike earned $1.86 million in his first stakes win.

The colt lost to Zandon in his most recent start last month and was beaten by Epicenter at the John Battaglia Memorial in March.

León regularly rides on some of the smaller circuits in the country, where the prizes are modest.

But he matched his ingenuity with such veteran pilots as Joel Rosario, aboard Epicenter, and John Velázquez, with Messier.

"After 51 years we accomplished this feat and

this is dedicated to Venezuela and my family

," said the jockey about his successful career.

With information from The Associated Press

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2022-05-10

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