Derby Results: Comparing 2014 Kentucky Race to Previous Years at Churchill Downs

California Chrome earned an impressive victory at the Kentucky Derby, but his performance was far from the best we have seen in recent years at Churchill Downs.

Based on this year's event alone, the thoroughbred was quite impressive. Jockey Victor Espinoza got his horse out to a good start where he was able to stick with the leaders for the majority of the race. By the time he entered the straightaway, California Chrome was able to pull away from the pack and earn an easy victory.

Here is a replay of the race from start to finish:

A strong push from Commander Curve prevented a blowout win, but it was certainly a clean victory over the rest of the field:

Pos.	Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Lengths
1	5	California Chrome	Victor Espinoza	Art Sherman	-
2	17	Commanding Curve	Shaun Bridgmohan	Dallas Stewart	1 3/4
3	4	Danza	Joe Bravo	Todd Pletcher	3
4	20	Wicked Strong	Rajiv Maragh	Jimmy Jerkens	5 3/4
5	6	Samraat	Jose Ortiz	Rick Violette Jr.	5 3/4
6	12	Dance With Fate	Corey Nakatani	Peter Eurton	6 1/4
7	19	Ride On Curlin	Calvin Borel	Billy Gowan	6 3/4
8	14	Medal Count	Robby Albarado	Dale Romans	7 1/2
9	13	Chitu	Martin Garcia	Bob Baffert	8
10	7	We Miss Artie	Javier Castellano	Todd Pletcher	8 1/4
11	8	General A Rod	Joel Rosario	Mike Maker	8 1/4
12	16	Intense Holiday	John Velazquez	Todd Pletcher	9
13	18	Candy Boy	Gary Stevens	John Sadler	11 3/4
14	3	Uncle Sigh	Irad Ortiz Jr.	Gary Contessa	15
15	15	Tapiture	Ricardo Santana Jr.	Steve Asmussen	16 1/4
16	2	Harry's Holiday	Corey Lanerie	Mike Maker	22 1/2
17	9	Vinceremos	Joe Rocco Jr.	Todd Pletcher	28
18	10	Wildcat Red	Luis Saez	Jose Garoffalo	28 1/4
19	1	Vicar's In Trouble	Rosie Napravnik	Mike Maker	38 1/4
-	11	Hoppertunity	Mike Smith	Bob Baffert	SCR

The effort certainly impressed many horse racing fans watching along. Ray Paulick of the Paulick Report was convinced that California Chrome was for real:

Joe Quinn of ESPN 590 also had good things to say about the performance:

This type of showing was expected by many coming into the race after the horse won his last four starts, including the prestigious Santa Anita Derby. For this reason, he was the overwhelming favorite by post time.

Still, ESPN's Darren Rovell notes that being a favorite has not always led to success:

Heading into the next leg of the Triple Crown, everyone is now expecting a repeat performance from California Chrome:

If he can dominate the field like he did at Churchill Downs, there is no reason to expect anything less than another trip to the winner's circle.

Unfortunately, the performance at the Kentucky Derby was not as impressive as it originally looked. According to Eric Crawford of WDRB, his final time was quite slow:

Of course, this is not the horse's fault. The pace of the pack was extremely slow, and Espinoza was perfectly content sitting back and waiting to make a move later. However, the thoroughbred is still vulnerable to a faster pace in future races.

A quicker horse like Hoppertunity—who was scratched due to a foot injury—could mess things up at the Preakness or Belmont.

On the other hand, trainer Art Sherman is not afraid of this happening, as he explained prior to the start of the Kentucky Derby:

In reality, all that California Chrome needs to do is finish ahead of those in the field. It does not matter how far in front or what the final time is compared to others in history. He proved that he is the real deal on Saturday and should remain a top contender for all races going forward.

If everything goes right, he even has the chance to win the first Triple Crown since 1978.

However, the horse is far from the best Kentucky Derby winner in recent years. He defeated a weak field and still has a lot more to prove before discussing his status in history.

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