Kentucky Derby Results: Analysis of Orb and Other Top Finishers

The 2013 Kentucky Derby was won by Orb, who surged to the front down the final straightaway and wound up cruising to victory by two-and-a-half lengths.

34-to-1 long shot Golden Soul was the next to cross the finish line, followed by another big favorite in Revolutionary.

Below is a complete list of the results, along with the payout schedule for the top-three horses in this edition of the most exciting two minutes in sports. Then we'll look at those who finished best in the 139th Run for the Roses.

Note: All information and odds, unless otherwise indicated, are courtesy of KentuckyDerby.com.

2013 Kentucky Derby | Churchill Downs, Louisville, Ky. | Purse: $2.18 Million | Grade I | Distance: 10 furlongs

Place	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Post
1	Orb	Joel Rosario	Claude R. McGaughey III	16
2	Golden Soul	Robby Albarado	Dallas Stewart	4
3	Revolutionary	Calvin Borel	Todd Pletcher	3
4	Normandy Invasion	Javier Castellano	Chad Brown	5
5	Mylute	Rosie Napravnik	Tom Amoss	6
6	Oxbow	Gary Stevens	D. Wayne Lukas	2
7	Lines of Battle	Ryan Moore	Aidan O'Brien	11
8	Will Take Charge	Jon Court	D. Wayne Lukas	17
9	Charming Kitten	Edgar Prado	Todd Pletcher	15
10	Giant Finish	Jose L. Espinoza	Anthony W. Dutrow	7
11	Overanalyze	Rafael Bejarano	Todd Pletcher	9
12	Palace Malice	Mike Smith	Todd Pletcher	10
13	Java's War	Julien Leparoux	Kenny McPeek	19
14	Verrazano	John R. Velazquez	Todd Pletcher	14
15	Itsmyluckyday	Elvis Trujillo	Eddie Plesa, Jr.	12
16	Frac Daddy	Victor Lebron	Kenny McPeek	18
17	Goldencents	Kevin Krigger	Doug O'Neill	8
18	Vyjack	Garrett Gomez	Rudy Rodriguez	20
19	Falling Sky	Luis Saez	John Terranova II	13

Payout Schedule

Horse	Win	Place	Show
Orb	$12.80	$7.40	$5.40
Golden Soul	—	$38.60	$19.40
Revolutionary	—	—	$5.40

$2 Exacta: (16-4) paid $981.60; $1 Trifecta: (16-4-3) paid $3,462.80; $1 Superfecta: (16-4-3-5) paid $28,542.00.

Analysis of Top Performers

Orb (5-1)

Jockey Joel Rosario mounted his 130th winning horse of 2013 in his triumphant first victory in the Kentucky Derby. He continues to thrive despite an incredibly busy schedule.

Golf Channel's Matt Ginella made an appropriate cross-sports analogy in reference to how well Orb charged from 15th halfway through the race to a commanding lead on the final straightaway:

Perhaps the best element of Orb's win was the fact that he did it for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey. As a native of Lexington, Kentucky, McGaughey has toiled away for years in trying to win the big one at Churchill Downs.

It had been since 1989 at the Belmont Stakes when McGaughey last captured a jewel in the Triple Crown, and now he has a chance to notch the sport's elusive trifecta.

Horse racing PR representative Jim Gluckson logged a simple, relieved statement McGaughey made after the long-awaited breakthrough:

Orb will continue his pursuit of the Triple Crown at the Preakness Stakes on May 18. And with Rosario on board, should have as good of a chance as anyone yet again.

Golden Soul (34-1)

Being sandwiched between the top favorites will diminish the story behind Golden Soul a bit, but his run was among the most shocking developments in the race.

The difficult conditions and relatively sloppy track didn't faze this long shot, who was ridden phenomenally by Robby Albarado.

Neither the swiftest nor the most physically imposing, the three-year-old was able to keep up with the fast early pace set by Palace Malice while still possessing the necessary energy and stamina to bolt past nearly the entire field.

It's unlikely that many people wagered any serious coin on Golden Soul, but Jim Chairusmi of the Wall Street Journal's Sports Retort Podcast did. Though he hails himself as a well-informed analyst, Chairusmi's bet on the big surprise was the result of a chance encounter:

Golden Soul's strong showing is part of what makes the Derby so exciting, and it is a stellar achievement no matter what the horse does for the rest of his career. 

Revolutionary (6-1)

Pat Forde of Yahoo! indicated before the race which horses had won on wet tracks, and the headliner was Revolutionary:

The Todd Pletcher-trained thoroughbred was a co-favorite in the Derby along with Orb until the final hour before the starting gates opened.

It was an admirable effort, but the Louisiana Derby winner couldn't quite muster enough down the stretch to come away with the gold trophy on Saturday.

Everything was set up for success for Revolutionary—one of the best trainers ever and a three-time Kentucky Derby-winning jockey in Calvin Borel. The No. 3 post position was thought to give him an advantage, since he's renowned for his ability to make moves close to the rail.

Black Onyx's scratch from the first post was thought to free Revolutionary up even more. The run that Orb made was just too much to overcome, and Golden Soul proved tougher than expected from the fourth post position.