With a record crowd watching Animal Kingdom wins the 137th running of the Kentucky Derby. Jockey John Velazquez who was a last minute addition brought the horse in with an exciting win.
Animal Kingdom and Velazquez were 20-to-1 favored in light of Velazquez being the jockey for Uncle Mo all the way up until Friday when the horse was scratched from the race. Velazquez was quickly snatched up to ride Animal Kingdom when its regular jockey had been injured.
Velazquez was born in Puerto Rico in 1971 and trained under the tutelage of the famous Angel Cordero Jr. He has won 8 Breeder’s Cup races but today he wins his first Kentucky Derby.
