How Derby winners have performed in Preakness since '89

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by Port Conway Lane

This makes Pleasant Colony a rare bird indeed.

Alysheba and Spectacular Bid both did recently win the Derby from 10 lengths or more back as well.

However, Alysheba did it with dramatic flair, almost falling, and coming on to win anyway.

Spectacular Bid, meanwhile, did it against a historic slow pace.

Spectacular Bid ducked in a bit at the start, and was settled 6.5 lengths behind a 24 1/5th opening quarter.

How slow is a 24 1/5 opening quarter in the Kentucky Derby?

It's the outright slowest in the Derby since 1959 (54 years ago!)

And the last time an opening quarter in the Kentucky Derby went slower than 24 1/5th was 1912 (101 years ago) when a horse named Worth got away with a 24 3/5th opening quarter and went wire-to-wire in 2:09 2/5th over a track that was a bog.

General Assembly, who was leading after that historically slow 1st quarter kicked it in a bit and Spectacular Bid was 10 lengths back and in 6th position after a half in 47 2/5ths.

He made a powerhouse 5-wide move on the far turn and won going away despite the slow pace.

Spectacular Bid's Ragozin figure was the second fastest Kentucky Derby figure in the 1900's ... trailing only Secretariat's by 1 point.