Longines Kentucky Oaks history was made Friday night at Churchill Downs in Louisville, as Always a Runner surged late to win the 152nd running before a crowd of 103,290.
Owned by Douglas Scharbauer and Three Chimneys Farm, Always a Runner powered past Meaning and Explora in the final sixteenth to win by 1 ¼ lengths, completing the mile-and-an-eighth in 1:48.62 on a fast track, and at 5-to-1 co-favorite odds.
The victory marked the first Oaks win for trainer Chad Brown and the second for jockey Jose Ortiz, who previously won in 2019 aboard Serengeti Empress.
Explora set the early pace, pressured by Dazzling Dame, while Always a Runner settled mid-pack before launching a sweeping five-wide move around the far turn. She accelerated strongly down the stretch, taking command late and drawing clear.
Meaning finished second, with Counting Stars closing for third. Explora faded to fourth after setting the pace.
The win, worth $855,600, boosted Always a Runner’s earnings to $987,800 and kept the undefeated filly perfect in three starts. Bred in Kentucky, she is a daughter of Gun Runner out of Always Carina.
After the race, Ortiz praised the filly’s determination, while Brown reflected on her remarkable comeback from a serious bout of pneumonia earlier in her career, calling the victory “unbelievable.”
While many complained of a late prime-time start on NBC, bettors didn’t seem to care. The total Kentucky Oaks handle was $88.5 million, smashing the previous record of $75.3 million.
Far more are expected to attend this evening’s 152nd “Running of the Roses,” where Renegade remains a 4-1 favorite to win out of the overshadowed Post 1 rail assignment — which hasn’t seen a victor emerge from its lane since Ferdinand did so in 1986.
Does the 40-year drought end tonight? Or does another — Commandment at 6-1 out of Post 6, So Happy at 15-1 out of Post 8, Chief Wallabee at 8-1 out of Post 12, Emerging Market at 15-1 out of Post 15, or Further Ado at 6-1 out of Post 18 — have the nose?
Or do we get a Rich Strike scenario, like we did during the 149th running — at stunning 80-1 odds?
Fun fact: 19 of the 20 horses first supposed for this year’s Derby field are descendants of Secretariat, continuing his dominance in modern thoroughbred racing decades after his 1973 Triple Crown victory.
The lone ranger on his own pace: Emerging Market.
Pat Day will give the famed “Riders Up” call. He is the all-time leading rider at Churchill Downs and Keeneland. He won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey four times (1984, 1986, 1987, 1991) and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1991. He is also the top money-winning Breeders’ Cup jockey in history.
Post time is 5:57 p.m. local time, 6:57 p.m. Eastern Time, with sunshine and temperatures around the mid-50s — the coldest Derby in almost 30 years.
