Kentucky Derby results 2013: Orb wins the Run for the Roses

Orb won the 139th Kentucky Derby on Saturday in Louisville. Golden Soul finished second and Revolutionary third.

Palace Malice held the lead at the first turn and set a :45 split at the half-mile mark but fell out of the lead by the final turn. Normandy Invasion took the lead heading into the stretch, but that’s where Orb made his move. The winning time was 2 minute 2.89 seconds.

The weather had been been sloppy earlier in the day, with drizzles passing through Louisville on and off. That left a muddy track at race time, making the relatively firm dirt by the rail tempting for the riders.

Revolutionary, ridden by jockey Calvin Borel and starting from the 3-position, at 6/1 odds was the betting favorite leading up the race. Late betting gave Orb 6/1 favorites just before the race as well.

Borel is known for riding along the rail, making Revolutionary a good choice. Oxbow opened just inside him at the 2-post after the scratch of Onyx. With jockey Gary Stevens making his return to horse racing, the horse may have been an emotional favorite. But with 23/1 odds, he was far from a betting favorite.

Goldencents, owned in part by Louisville coach Rick Pitino, had 7/1 odds from the 8-post.

Golden Soul had been 34/1 odds to win.

The mile-and-a-quarter Kentucky Derby is the opening of horse racing’s Triple Crown, an accomplishment that has not been done since 1978 when Affirmed edged Alydar in the trio of races in one of the sport’s best rivalries.

Eyes now turn to the 2013 Preakness, two weeks from now at Pimlico. The 1-3/16 mile race is set for May 18 in Baltimore. I’ll Have Another last year won both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, but scratched the day before the Belmont Stakes due to injury.

• Next up: The 2013 Preakness Stakes

• No Finish Line: Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens returns

• Kentucky Derby hats, from stately to absurd

• SB Nation’s horse racing blog: And Down The Stretch They Come