Kentucky Derby 2013 Results: Top Horses Heading into Preakness Stakes

The dirt track at Churchill Downs was a muddy mess by the time the 2013 Kentucky Derby kicked off, and the conditions foreshadowed a finish we'd not soon forget.

Orb and jockey Joel Rosario put together a masterful race, winning comfortably by over two lengths with a time of 2:02.89 thanks to a phenomenal surge down the home stretch. BuzzFeed News captured a gorgeous shot of the moment right before Orb crossed the line:

The race began as expected, with sprinters Falling Sky and Verrazano jumping out to an early lead. It didn't take long for the field to catch up, however, as the two speed demons quickly lost their endurance.

Palace Malice had a big lead for about 30 seconds, but he too lost his momentum and ended up falling toward the back of the pack down the home stretch. 

All the while, Orb lurked in the shadows, biding his time while the rest of the field tired itself out. Orb's kick out of the final turn was a thing of beauty. By the time he crossed the finish line, there was no doubt about which horse reigned supreme.

Here is a look at the final standings, courtesy of KentuckyDerby.com. 

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

Top Horses Heading Into the Preakness

The second leg of America's Triple Crown is only two weeks away. The track at Pimlico Race Course is slightly shorter than that of Churchill Downs—a 9.5 furlong race, or 1 3/16th miles long.

Orb

Orb's fantastic race at the Derby will certainly make him the heavy favorite to win at the Preakness. 

This is a horse with legendary pedigree, as detailed by Jennie Rees of the courier-journal.com. It has enough raw speed and endurance to make a run at the Triple Crown this year. Furthermore, it has now won five straight races heading into the Preakness.

The shorter track at Pimlico won't be a problem for Orb and jockey Rosario. The duo's strategy might shift slightly, because the top sprinters won't lose their endurance as quickly on a dry track. That said, it was clear from Orb's finish at the Derby that he has the speed to compete with those horses.

Goldencents

A 17th-place finish wouldn't usually portend big things in the future, but many of the top horses from the Derby (Revolutionary, Golden Soul, Normandy Invasion, among others) likely won't be competing in the second leg of the Triple Crown (h/t Ron Mitchell of BloodHorse.com). 

Considered to be one of the heavy favorites to win the Derby, Goldencents' poor finish wasn't indicative of this horse's potential. According to James Scully of BrisNet.com, Goldencents featured the "top last-race BRIS speed rating (106)" of any horse entered to race at Churchill Downs.

Simply put, this horse can really fly. Unfortunately, the muddy track on Saturday wasn't suited to his running style. It will be shocking if Goldencents doesn't bounce back with a big race at the Preakness Stakes later this month. 

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