Kentucky Derby 2012: Biggest Disappointments of Saturday's Race

The 138th running of the Kentucky Derby was an exciting two minutes, with historic runs by multiple horses. Bodemeister almost held on for the win after leading at every call during the running of the race, only faltering in the last few strides to lose by one-and-a-half lengths, and winner I'll Have Another was the first horse to ever win from the 19 hole.

While I'll Have Another and Bodemeister were both talked about before the race as potential favorites, others didn't live up to their hype. The Derby is always full of surprises, but let's see who the biggest disappointments were of this year's running of the race.

Take Charge Indy

The Florida Derby winner didn't have a chance to make a charge, as the best the colt got to any call was fourth, racing behind Trinniburg and Bodemeister.

The colt finished 19th in the race, but he may have an excuse, as it looks like he may have been injured during the running.

It was found after the race that he suffered a chip in his ankle, but trainer Pat Byrne believes that the colt will be back under tack in about 60 days.

Gemologist

Like many of the others in the front, the undefeated Gemologist faded to the back of the field at the end of the race.

The colt did run in fifth until the mile call, when he faded back to 10th, before finally ending the race in 16th place.

Alpha

Gemologist's Wood Memorial rival got the best of him in the Kentucky Derby but still finished a disappointing 12th.

Alpha raced near midpack in 13th and 14th for most of the race, but was in 15th for a few calls, before improving to his best position at the wire. Alpha has already left the Churchill Downs grounds for New York.

Hansen

If you saw Hansen in the post parade before the race, you may have thought that he had finally gotten away with being dyed, as the horse had shades of pink on his body. However, the coloring was just due to the horse sweating.

Hansen was extremely rank in the beginning of the race, but he held on in the top three until the last call of the race, where he was found crossing the wire in ninth. Hansen never saw the lead during the race and at only one point got within a head of second.

The notoriously temperamental horse seemed to get wound up by the Kentucky Derby crowd, and he beat himself before the race with his antics, so holding the pace for so long was extremely impressive to this writer.

Union Rags

Union Rags experienced a lot of trouble after a slow break at the gate that knocked him out of contention.

The colt's jockey, Julien Leparoux, explained the troubled ride in the Derby to the Boston Globe, starting with Union Rags' gate trouble.

“He broke a step slow and he usually breaks well from the gate,’’ Leparoux told the Boston Globe. “Then he got bumped and we dropped far back.’’

The fan favorite was in 18th for two of the early race calls. He couldn't catch a break during the race, sitting back in the 16th spot at the one-mile mark. However, a late charge when he got room to run allowed the flashy bay earn a seventh-place spot.

Union Rags is scheduled to leave Churchill Downs on Sunday evening. The Preakness is in consideration for the horse.