Big Brown Wins Kentucky Derby

Favorite Big Brown outran a 20-horse field today and claimed the Kentucky Derby by a solid 5 lengths, NBC Sports reports. But tragedy struck at the finish line for runner-up Eight Belles, which broke two ankles and had to be euthanized on the track. For unbeaten Derby runner Big Brown, a 5-2 favorite in the $2 million race, it was a fourth consecutive victory.

"He’s a dream come true, seems like he was born for this track," trainer Rick Dutrow said before the race. Eight Belles aimed to become the fourth filly to nab a Derby win and the first since Winning Colors 10 years ago, but "she started galloping funny" after passing the wire, jockey Gabriel Saez said. "I tried to pull her up. That’s when she went down." (More horse racing stories.)