The 2016 Kentucky Derby was the 142nd running of the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-yea ...

. The race was run at 6:51 pm

Eastern Daylight Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a sma ...

(EDT) on May 7, 2016 at

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was p ...

. The race was broadcast in the United States on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

television network. The second largest attendance of 167,227 was on hand for the event.

Qualification

The Kentucky Derby is a race for 3-year-old

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

horses. The 2016 field was determined by the

Road to the Kentucky Derby The Road to the Kentucky Derby is a points system by which horses qualify for a position in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby. It features dozens of stakes races for 2 and 3-year-old Thoroughbreds – the number and specific races have chang ...

points system that was first introduced in 2013.

Field

The Post Position Draw of the entries for the Kentucky Derby was held Wednesday, May 4, 2016 at the Churchill Downs Racetrack clubhouse. After the draw was made, the undefeated Nyquist was installed as the 3–1

morning line Glossary of North American horse racing: Additional glossaries at: *Glossary of Australian and New Zealand punting *Glossary of equestrian terms This is a basic glossary of equestrian terms that includes both technical terminology and jargon ...

favorite. In spite of having been undefeated in his seven previous races and having already defeated several of the other entries, including second-favorite Exaggerator, Nyquist was viewed as vulnerable, in part because of the statistical improbability of the race favorite winning for four years in a row. Pundits also noted the unusual number of

gray Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be compose ...

horses in the field, four in total and three of them sons of

Tapit Tapit (foaled February 27, 2001, in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won three of his six races, including the Wood Memorial Stakes, then a Grade I event. He was an immediate success after retiring to stud, becoming the le ...

, a gray

stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

who is ranked as the leading sire in America.

Race description

At the start, Danzing Candy quickly took the lead and held onto it for until fading. The favorite, Nyquist, broke well and stayed close to the leaders, no farther back than third throughout the race. At the top of the stretch, Gun Runner, who had been running second or third throughout, briefly took the lead but was quickly surpassed by Nyquist. Exaggerator, who had started well back in 15th place, closed fast at the end. Nyquist held him off to win the race by

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most Measurement system, systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit f ...

. Nyquist was the eighth undefeated winner in Kentucky Derby history, the first since

Big Brown Big Brown may refer to: * Big Brown (horse), an American thoroughbred racehorse * Big brown bat, an North American bat * Big Brown, a nickname for the delivery company United Parcel Service * Big Brown Box, an Australian online retailer *Big Brown ( ...

in 2008. The last horse to have been undefeated in seven races prior to winning the Derby was

Majestic Prince Majestic Prince (March 19, 1966 – April 22, 1981) was a Thoroughbred racehorse. One of the leading North American horses of his generation, he won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in 1969. Background In September 1967, Majestic Prince ...

in 1969.

Results

*Track – Fast Times: mile – 0:22.58; mile – 0:45.72; mile – 1:10.40; mile – 1:36.51; final – 2:01.31.
Splits for each quarter-mile: (:22.58) (:23.14) (:24.68) (:25.21) (:25.70) Source: Equibase chart

Payout

The Kentucky Derby Payout Schedule * $2 Exacta: (13–11) $30.80 * $1 Trifecta: (13–11–5) $86.70 * $1

Superfecta {{Wiktionary The superfecta is a type of wager in USA and Canada parimutuel betting in which the bettor, in order to win, must pick the first four finishers of a race in the correct sequence. This is even more unlikely than a successful wager in th ...

: (13–11–5–14) $542.10 * $1 Super Hi 5 (Pentafecta): (13–11–5–14–2) $5,794.50

Subsequent Grade I wins

Although Nyquist never won another race, several other horses from the Derby went on to win at the Grade I level: * Exaggerator – Preakness Stakes, Haskell Invitational * Gun Runner – Clark Handicap, 2017

Stephen Foster Handicap The Stephen Foster Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three and older over a distance of miles on the dirt run annually in mid-June at Churchill Downs Spring Meet in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is named in ...

, Whitney Stakes,

Woodward Stakes The Woodward Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race and is one of the premier races for older thoroughbred horses in the United States. It is named for prominent racehorse owner William Woodward. The race was first run in 1954 at Aqueduct Rac ...

Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October ...

, 2018 Pegasus World Cup * Mor Spirit – 2017

Metropolitan Handicap The Metropolitan Handicap, frequently called the "Met Mile", is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of one mile (8 fu ...

* Creator –

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nickname ...

* Whitmore – 2018

Forego Stakes The Forego Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for horses four years old and older over the distance of seven furlongs on the dirt, scheduled annually in August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The event curr ...

, 2020

Breeders' Cup Sprint The Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older. Run on dirt Corrected grade for Santa Anita sprintover a distance of 6 Furlongs ( mile), the race has been held annually s ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kentucky Derby, 2016 2016 in horse racing

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

May 2016 sports events in the United States