Kentucky Derby

The unbeaten Big Brown's start from the outside post did little to hamper his charge when the 20-horse field turned for home at Churchill Downs. Under the urging of jockey Kent Desormeaux, the 2-1 favorite cruised to an easy victory to become the seventh unbeaten Kentucky Derby winner with his fourth consecutive win. The last one was Barbaro in 2006.

That wasn't the only reason thoughts of Barbaro were hard to ignore on this Derby Day. Eight Belles was my Derby pick. She finished a good, strong second to the favorite, then broke both front ankles when she was pulled up after the finish. She went down almost immediately and was euthanised on the track. The breakdown brought back memories of the 2006 Preakness, where Barbaro shattered his right rear leg just after the start. The colt was euthanized months later, after developing laminitis from the catastrophic injuries.

Big Brown became the first Derby winner since Regret in 1915 to have raced only three times previously. He is only the third in 60 years to win after racing in just two Derby preps -- Sunny's Halo in 1983 and Street Sense last year were the others. In addition, Big Brown became the second winner to start from the No. 20 post. The gelding Clyde Van Dusen did it in 1929.

Big Brown covered the 1¼ miles in 2:01.82 in front of the second-largest crowd in Derby history at 157,770. He paid $6.80, $5 and $4.80. Eight Belles paid $10.60 and $6.40, and Denis of Cork, at odds of 27-1, returned $11.60.