Kentucky Derby 2016 Video: Replay Highlights, Race Results and Breakdown

Nyquist raced to victory with jockey Mario Gutierrez aboard at the 2016 Kentucky Derby on Saturday, living up to the hype as the pre-race favorite in the 142nd Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs.

NBC Sports provided the complete footage of the Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports from Louisville, Kentucky:

Although Danzing Candy wound up fading to 15th in the 20-horse field by the end, he set the stage for an epic performance from Nyquist, who won for the eighth time in as many career starts.

With Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith in the irons and beginning at the furthest post from the rail, Danzing Candy surged to the front and remained there. Unless he was going to pull off a wire-to-wire win, though, he couldn't continue on that fast.

Pos.	Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer
1	13	Nyquist	Mario Gutierrez	Doug F. O'Neill
2	11	Exaggerator	Kent J. Desormeaux	J. Keith Desormeaux
3	5	Gun Runner	Florent Geroux	Steven M. Asmussen
4	14	Mohaymen	Junior Alvarado	Kiaran P. McLaughlin
5	2	Suddenbreakingnews	Luis Quinonez	Donnie K. Von Hemel
6	9	Destin	Javier Castellano	Todd A. Pletcher
7	19	Brody's Cause	Luis Saez	Dale L. Romans
8	4	Mo Tom	Corey J. Lanerie	Thomas M. Amoss
9	8	Lani	Yutaka Take	Mikio Matsunaga
10	17	Mor Spirit	Gary L. Stevens	Bob Baffert
11	6	My Man Sam	Irad Ortiz Jr.	Chad C. Brown
12	12	Tom's Ready	Brian Hernandez Jr.	Dallas Stewart
13	3	Creator	Ricardo Santana Jr.	Steven M. Asmussen
14	15	Outwork	John R. Velazquez	Todd A. Pletcher
15	20	Danzing Candy	Mike E. Smith	Clifford W. Sise Jr.
16	1	Trojan Nation	Aaron T. Gryder	Patrick Gallagher
17	7	Oscar Nominated	Julien R. Leparoux	Michael J. Maker
18	18	Majesto	Javier Castellano	Gustavo Delgado
19	10	Whitmore	Victor Espinoza	Ron Moquett
20	16	Shagaf	Joel Rosario	Chad C. Brown

Managing to hang tough despite the ambitious starting gallop, both Gun Runner and Nyquist were up near the lead the entire way. It wasn't until the one-mile mark when those two began to put some distance between themselves and everyone else.

But Nyquist's extra gear was too much for Gun Runner and a hard, late-charging Exaggerator to overcome. Nyquist netted a finishing time of 2:01.31—the fastest since 2003 in the race, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Chris Fowler of ESPN was among those who were surprised at how strong Nyquist was:

After a stunning finish in the Santa Anita Derby to win in a rout on a sloppy track, it was hard to question Exaggerator's toughness or strength or whether he was cut out for a 10-furlong jaunt at Churchill Downs.

It simply took a bit too long for the No. 2 favorite to get going. When jockey Kent Desormeaux turned him loose, Exaggerator flashed the elite form he showed at Santa Anita Park and nearly caught Nyquist, but he ran out of real estate before the finish.

Nyquist trainer Doug O'Neill said following Saturday's triumph, per ESPN.com's Dana O'Neil: "Now I have to say it. ... This is definitely the best horse I've ever been around."

Based on the results that have been achieved to date, Nyquist has the goods to back up O'Neill's bold proclamation.

O'Neill and Gutierrez won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes with I'll Have Another in 2012. Their partnership was successful at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore once before, so that history alone is reason to believe in Nyquist's Triple Crown chances.

Regardless of pedigree or the past prowess his connections may have enjoyed, it's up to Nyquist to run well. He has so far, but the task ahead is tough. It's only a two-week turnaround for May 21's next Triple Crown showcase.

What makes Nyquist a believable Preakness contender beyond what he's already accomplished to date is the fact O'Neill and Gutierrez have handled the brief time between Triple Crown races in exemplary fashion before.

Since he's an even better horse than I'll Have Another in the expert opinion of O'Neill, perhaps Nyquist can match American Pharoah's feat from last year as a Triple Crown champion.