Kentucky Derby 2018 Video: Replay Highlights, Race Results and Breakdown

Any time a horse wins the Kentucky Derby and earns the first jewel of the Triple Crown, it's a major achievement in horse racing.

The Kentucky Derby is still the biggest event in the thoroughbred world—as evidenced by NBC's marathon broadcast of the event Saturday afternoon—and the winner of the 1 ¼-mile race will always be celebrated.

However, there was something different about Justify's victory Saturday. He has a chance to turn out to be one of the sport's legendary performers if he can add the Preakness championship May 19 and the Belmont Stakes on the first Saturday in June. But even if he doesn't win the Triple Crown, he was spectacular in his Derby victory.

Kentucky Derby Payout (Based on $2 Bet), per NBC Sports

1st: Justify (Win: $7.80; Place: $6.00; Show: $4.40)

2nd: Good Magic (Place: $9.20; Show: $6.60)

3rd: Audible (Show: $5.80)

Kentucky Derby Results List

Win ($1.24 million): Justify; Jockey: Mike Smith; Trainer: Bob Baffert

Place ($400,000): Good Magic (-2 ½ lengths); Jockey: Jose Ortiz; Trainer: Chad Brown

Show ($200,000): Audible (-2 ½ lengths); Jockey: Javier Castellano; Trainer: Todd Pletcher

4th ($100,000): Instilled Regard (-4 ¼ lengths); Jockey: Drayden Van Dyke; Trainer: Jerry Hollendorfer

5th ($60,000): My Boy Jack (-7 lengths); Jockey: Kent Desormeaux; Trainer: J. Keith Desormeaux

6th: Bravazo (-8 lengths); Jockey: Luis Contreras; Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas

7th: Hofburg (-8 ¾ lengths); Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.; Trainer: William Mott

8th: Lone Sailor (-9 ¼ lengths); Jockey: James Graham; Trainer: Thomas Amoss

9th: Vino Rosso (-10 ½ lengths); Jockey: John Velazquez; Trainer: Todd Pletcher

10th: Solomini (-11 lengths); Jockey: Flavien Prat; Trainer: Bob Baffert

11th: Firenze Fire (-23 ½ lengths); Jockey: Paco Lopez; Trainer: Jason Servis

12th: Bolt d'Oro (-24 ¼ lengths); Jockey: Victor Espinoza; Trainer: Mick Ruis

13th: Flameaway (-30 ½ lengths); Jockey: Jose Lezcano; Trainer: Mark Casse

14th: Enticed (-34 ¾ lengths); Jockey: Junior Alvarado; Trainer: Kiaran McLaughlin

15th: Promises Fulfilled (-39 ¾ lengths); Jockey: Corey Lanerie; Trainer: Dale Romans

16th: Free Drop Billy (-41 lengths); Jockey: Robby Albarado; Trainer: Dale Romans

17th: Noble Indy (-42 ¼ lengths); Jockey: Florent Geroux; Trainer: Todd Pletcher

18th: Combatant (-42 ¾ lengths); Jockey: Ricardo Santana Jr.; Trainer: Steve Asmussen

19th: Magnum Moon (-49 ½ lengths); Jockey: Luis Saez; Trainer: Todd Pletcher

20th: Mendelssohn (-73 ¼ lengths); Jockey: Ryan Moore; Trainer: Aidan O'Brien

Much has been made of Justify's ability to overcome a 136-year-old trend to win the Run for the Roses even though he had not competed as a two-year-old. No horse had won the Kentucky Derby without competing as a juvenile since a Apollo accomplished the feat in 1882.

That's noteworthy, but there are much bigger factors in Justify's performance than trivia.

Justify had been to the post just three times prior to the race and all had been against smaller fields and had taken place in California. He raced against 19 competitors in the Kentucky Derby, did it in a downpour and yet came through with a dynamic performance.

Rob Carr/Getty Images

Trainer Bob Baffert had prepared Justify well for the event, and veteran jockey Mike Smith rode him with a purpose. Having two Hall of Famers on his side helped Justify in his endeavor, but the colt's performance on the soaked Churchill Downs track should live on for many years.

The first thing that happened was an excellent start. Baffert doesn't have to give Smith many instructions since the 52-year-old jockey is the picture of experience, but he made it clear he wanted Justify to get away quickly so he could avoid the traffic that comes any time 20 horses compete in a race.

As the gates opened, speedball Promises Fulfilled jumped to the front of the pack. That was just as expected, and Justify was angled behind him in second place. That meant Justify could run quite cleanly despite the downpour.

He was not getting jostled by other horses or getting mud thrown back in his face since he was to the side of of Promises Fulfilled and not directly behind him.

Justify maintained his speed and position throughout the first half of the race, and that could have led to trouble. He was running at an extremely fast rate, as the first half-mile was completed in 45.77 seconds. That could have caused problems later in the race after Justify struck the front with three-eighths of a mile to run.

Justify had to withstand a brief challenge from Bolt d'Oro and then a more serious move by Good Magic as the horses turned for home. Good Magic is trained by Chad Brown, who is nearly Baffert's equal when it comes to preparing horses.

Good Magic had plenty of momentum and appeared to take a couple of strides that cut into Justify's lead. But Justify was not about to yield after gaining the front, and he was able to stretch out his lead to two ½ lengths as he reached the wire and earned the Kentucky Derby title with a winning time of 2:04.20.

Smith explained that his horse was quite responsive at every interval during the race.

"I hit the front at the three-eighths pole," Smith said, per David Grening of the Daily Racing Form. "I let him take a little bit of a breather, kind of let him gather himself up because he responds to you very well. When I sat him down and just gave him that [crack of the whip], he jumped into it again and good thing, because Good Magic was coming and he held him at bay. He wasn't going to let him by him."

Brown was pleased with Good Magic's effort, but he added that his horse was asked to run against a superior competitor.

"I had a horse today that was good enough to win several Derbies," Brown said, per Mike Welsch of the Daily Racing Form. "Just not this one. I thought at the eighth pole that Justify might come back to us, given the fractions and the fact he was doing a lot of the heavy lifting up front. But that horse had another gear and found more. He was a deserving winner. He's a super horse."

The accolades have been coming for Justify, and they are deserved for what he did on a rainy day in Louisville. In order to achieve legendary status, he must match his Kentucky Derby victory in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.

The thoroughbred racing world waits with bated breath.