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The 2021 Kentucky Derby (officially, the 2021 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve) was the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby. It took place on the first Saturday in May, May 1, 2021, in Louisville, Kentucky. The field was open to 20 horses, who qualified for the race by earning points on the 2021 Road to the Kentucky Derby. The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of 1 1⁄4 miles (2.0 km), and has been run at Churchill Downs racetrack since its inception in 1875. The purse for 2021 was US$3 million. It was won by Medina Spirit, who gave his trainer Bob Baffert a record seventh win in the race and jockey John Velazquez his fourth Derby win.
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The race was broadcast by NBC, with coverage by NBCSN of undercard races beginning at 12:30 pm EDT and main network coverage of pre-race activities starting at 2:30 pm EDT. It was also livestreamed on NBCSports.com. The post time was 7:01 pm
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The 2021 edition of the race returned to the Derby's traditional date on the first Saturday in May, when it had been held for 89 of the last 90 years.[3] Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 race was delayed to September and had no paid attendance. The Derby typically has one of the highest audiences of all North American sporting events, in the range of 150,000 in recent years, which includes a large infield crowd. The 2021 had a reduced attendance, with reserved seating limited to about 60% of capacity. About 15,000 general admission tickets to the infield were also sold – roughly 25% to 30% of capacity.
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The Kentucky Derby is only open to three-year-old Thoroughbreds, thus entrants in the 2021 race were foaled in 2018, as part of the North American foal crop of 21,181.The field is limited to twenty horses who qualify based on points earned in the 2021 Road to the Kentucky Derby, a series of designated races that was first introduced in 2013. This point system replaced the previous graded stakes race earnings system.
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Most positions in the Derby starting gate are earned on the main Road, consisting of 35 races in North America plus one in Dubai. The major preps for the Kentucky Derby are the Louisiana Derby, Jeff Ruby Steaks, UAE Derby, Florida Derby, Wood Memorial, Blue Grass Stakes, Santa Anita Derby, and Arkansas Derby. Each of these races provided the winner with 100 qualifying points, essentially guaranteeing that horse a berth in the Derby provided the owner paid the required nomination and entry fees. The first four of these major preps were run in late March and were won by Hot Rod Charlie, Like The King, Rebel's Romance, and Known Agenda respectively. The next three major preps were run on April 3 and were won by Bourbonic, Essential Quality, and Rock Your World. The last major prep was run on April 10 and was won by Super Stock.
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One qualification position was also available via the European Road to the Kentucky Derby, and another via the Japan Road. Due in part to ongoing restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic, none of these offers were accepted in 2021. These two positions reverted to qualifiers on the main Road.
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The favorite for the 2021 Kentucky Derby was Essential Quality, who was undefeated in all five of his previous starts including the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Blue Grass Stakes. Essential Quality trained at Churchill Downs and had previously won at the track, giving him a home field advantage.
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His main rivals were the Santa Anita Derby winner Rock Your World, Florida Derby winner Known Agenda, and Louisiana Derby winner Hot Rod Charlie. There were also several highly regarded horses who were runners-up in these events, including Highly Motivated who was second in the Blue Grass, Midnight Bourbon who was second in the Louisiana Derby, and Medina Spirit (the eventual winner), who was second in the Santa Anita Derby.[10] The other major preps were less impressive to handicappers, and the winners of those were relative longshots in the Derby. For example, the 72-1 Wood Memorial winner Bourbonic went off at odds of 28–1.
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