Always Dreaming Wins 2017 Kentucky Derby; Lookin At Lee Takes Distant 2nd

Always Dreaming pulled away from the field to win the 2017 Kentucky Derby on a muddy track Saturday.The closing co-favorite with Irish War Cry began in the No. 5 post and stayed toward the front nearly the entire race. He took over the lead before the final turn and faced little resistance on the home stretch.NBC Sports provided video of the fastest two minutes in sports:It's now the fifth straight favorite to win the prestigious race.Few horses were hotter than Always Dreaming coming into the weekend, winning three starts in a row, including the Florida Derby. This momentum continued to take home the first leg of the Triple Crown.This is the second career Kentucky Derby win for both trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey John R. Velazquez.Here are the final results from Churchill Downs:The full payout information is also available for the top finishers:Bleacher Report captured the winning moment on a wet track:Plenty of those watching along also provided their thoughts on the dramatic race:There was some concern about Thunder Snow after pulling up early, but Nicole Russo of Daily Racing Form reports he is in good shape:State of Honor was the early leader out of the gate and kept control for nearly half of the race. However, he couldn't keep up the pace for the entire 1 miles.Co-favorite Irish War Cry and morning-line favorite Classic Empire both challenged on the straightaway, but neither ended up in the money.Instead, it was Lookin At Lee who provided the biggest challenge in surprising fashion to get into second. While he closed the gap in the final stretches, he simply ran out of room before the finish line. Battle of Midway also beat out some bigger names to end up in third place.Still, the story will be Always Dreaming showing his ability as the top horse in the field.
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