Sovereignty wins muddy 151st Kentucky Derby over Journalism

Sovereignty won a muddy Kentucky Derby with the three-year-old colt beating favorite Journalism to secure the 151st running of the race.

The Derby, held in front of a crowd of 147,406 at Louisville’s Churchill Downs racecourse, is the longest continuously held major sporting event in the United States.

It was the second Derby win for trainer Bill Mott. He won his first Derby in 2019 when Country House was elevated to first after Maximum Security crossed the line first but was disqualified after a 22-minute delay.

“This one got there the right way,” the Hall of Fame trainer said. “I mean, he’s done well, he’s a great horse, he comes from a great organization and I can’t say enough about the horse and the organization that started him out and made this happen.”

Sovereignty was bred by Godolphin, the racing stable of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

“I've had quite a long relationship with the Godolphin team and the man behind the Godolphin operation, Sheikh Mohammed,” Mott said. “I'm just honored.”

Sovereignty splashed through 1 1/4 miles in 2:02.31 and paid $17.96 to win at 7-1 odds. He's the record 20th horse with a name starting with “S” to win. The victory was worth $3.1 million from the $5 million purse.

“It's great,” Mott said. “I think it will take a little while to sink in.”

Journalism didn't have the cleanest of trips in the 19-horse field, but rallied to stay in the fight. He found trouble early before jockey Umberto Rispoli swung him outside to get him in the clear. They made a move at the leaders with Sovereignty and jockey Junior Alvarado right behind them.

“He was saying to me, ‘Listen, I’m ready,’ so from there I started picking up,” Alvarado said.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.