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Mystik Dan wins 150th Kentucky Derby after photo finish

Mystik Dan won the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday as the quest for the Triple Crown began at Churchill Downs in Louisville.

Mystik Dan (15-1) won the 150th Kentucky Derby on Saturday, and a photo finish was needed to check the result.

It was the first time in 28 years that the Kentucky Derby was won by a nose, and just the 10th ever.

Track Phantom (41-1) and Just Steel (21-1) led at the ¾ mile mark, with the 3-1 favorite in Fierceness in third.

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But Mystik Dan, ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., was on the inside and busted through the pack.

Mystik Dan led by several lengths on the final stretch, but Sierra Leone crept up on the outside, forcing the Japanese horse, Forever Young (6-1), into the railing with him.

The three horses were then in the top-three, and it came down to a head-bob.

Fierceness, the Todd Pletcher-trained colt, was the 3-1 morningline favorite to win the Run of the Roses.

This year's race came with much less controversy than last year's, as a dozen horses died at Churchill Days in the days, and even hours, leading up to that race.

Notably absent from this year’s race will be Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who’s two-year ban was extended through 2024, making this the third Kentucky Derby in which a Baffert-trained horse will not be competing. 

A six-time winner at the Derby, Baffert was banned after 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit was stripped of the title following a failed post-race drug test - the horse died of a heart attack that December.

Mystik Dan will now officially begin the quest for a Triple Crown at the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course on May 18.

This is a developing story. Check back for more updates…

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