Kentucky Derby Results: Where Did the Top Contenders Finish?

The 138th Kentucky Derby is over, and it was everything it was advertised as.

I'll Have Another came from behind to beat Bodemeister at the end, making it one of the closest finishes in Kentucky Derby history.

The final odds on I'll Have Another were 13-1, while Bodemeister was 6-1.

Some horses came in with low odds of winning and ended up doing very well, while other horses came in with favorable odds and disappointed.

In an earlier article, this is how I predicted the order of finish compared to how they actually finished.

Place	My Prediction	Actual Race
1st	Union Rags	I'll Have Another
2nd	Gemologist	Bodemeister
3rd	Bodemeister	Dullahan
4th	Creative Cause	Went the Day Well
5th	Dullahan	Creative Cause
6th	I'll Have Another	Liaison
7th	Daddy Nose Best	Union Rags
8th	Hansen	Rousing Sermon
9th	Take Charge Indy	Hansen
10th	Alpha	Daddy Nose Best
11th	Went The Day Well	Optimizer
12th	Daddy Long Legs	Alpha
13th	Liaison	El Padrino
14th	El Padrino	Done Talking
15th	Rousing Sermon	Sabercat
16th	Trinniberg	Gemologist
17th	Prospective	Trinniberg
18th	Sabercat	Prospective
19th	Done Talking	Take Charge Indy
20th	Optimizer	Daddy Long Legs

Now, here's a further look at where the top contenders in the Kentucky Derby finished.

Surprising Finishes

As I said on the last slide, there were some huge surprises in the race.

Went the Day Well was the highest of the long-shots, finishing fourth with 27-1 odds.

Liaison, which finished sixth, had the second longest odds in the Derby set at 51-1 prior to the gates opening.

Rousing Sermon was the final long-shot to finish well, finishing eighth after coming in at 36-1 odds.

Union Rags: 5-1

Union Rags was one of the more disappointing horses of the race, although not the most disappointing.

The horse came in with 5-1 odds and was never really in the race.

As the horses came around the final turn, Union Rags seemed to be blocked in and could never get a good run like it wanted to, instead finishing the race in seventh place, one spot behind Liaison.

Bodemeister: 6-1

Bodemeister was strong throughout the race.

When Trinniberg raced out to the lead early in the race, many television analysts believed he would take a six- or seven-length lead.

But, Bodemeister went with him, and when Trinniberg fell off the pace, Bodemeister kept up the pace and led by a good margin.

That is until I'll Have Another raced from the middle of the pack for the win.

Gemologist: 8-1

Gemologist came into the Kentucky Derby having not lost a race.

After 16th-place finish, I have to say this was the most disappointing horse in the field.

This horse had not really been tested at all in any of his races, and it showed.

Gemologist is not a speed horse, and I wouldn't be surprised if this horse was held out of the Preakness or Belmont Stakes.

Dullahan: 11-1

Dullahan came into the Kentucky Derby as a mild favorite, but it wasn't one of those horses really talked about.

Throughout the race, it seemed the same way.

It stayed near the front for most of the race, but was never thought to be a serious contender for the win, finishing third.

Maybe the fact that Bodemeister was strong throughout the race had something to do with that.

Creative Cause: 11-1

Creative Cause saw its moments in the top of the field, but just like Dullahan, was never a serious contender to win.

A fifth-place finish is one place lower than I predicted for this horse in an earlier article.

Daddy Nose Best: 12-1

Daddy Nose best finished 10th and hung around the middle of the pack for the entire race.

He didn't get out to a great start, and it seemed he was content to run in the middle of the pack.

You can probably reason that the middle of the pack was so bunched up that many of the horses really couldn't make a move, but that's the Kentucky Derby for you.

Hansen: 13-1

Hansen finished ninth and was another disappointment in the race.

Prior to the start of the race, Hansen's odds got a little better, as more people seemed to be placing bets on him.

Still, when it came to race time, he was another one of the middle-of-the-pace horses.

I'll Have Another: 13-1

Finally, I'll Have Another ran the perfect race.

Hanging around near the back for more than half of the race, this horse had the opportunity to make his move down the home stretch because he wasn't so bunched up in the middle.

And, when they came down the home stretch, I'll Have Another made his move and caught up with Bodemeister with 300 yards to go, pulling ahead for the win.

It was a picture-perfect finish to a picture-perfect race.