2011 Kentucky Derby Winner is Animal Kingdom

The 2011 Kentucky Derby winner this year is Animal Kingdom, who earned the first jewel in the 2011 Triple Crown, winning his first race on a dirt surface. The top three finishers for the 2011 Kentucky Derby are Animal Kingdom, Nehro and Mucho Macho Man, who edged out the field of nineteen horses during the 1 1/4-mile race.

With no real frontrunner and one of the most wide-open fields in Kentucky Derby history, aside from oddsmakers having to quickly adjust their lines after Uncle Mo scratched on Friday after having been diagnosed with a gastrointestinal infection upon placing a disappointing third in the Wood Memorial on April 9, oddsmakers put Dialed In as the favorite with Hall of Fame jockey and three-time Kentucky Derby winner Calvin Borel riding Twice The Appeal as another favorite.

After NBC’s The Today Show did an piece about Pants on Fire and the female jockey riding Anna “Rosie” Napravnik who is the sixth woman in history to ride in the Kentucky Derby, the popularity of Pants on Fire grew enormously, and again, the odds changed. Napravnik has been compared to Calvin Borel and is revered as one of the top 10 riders in the horse racing industry.

Another favorite to win was Nehro, who like Florida Derby winner Dialed In, had a good showing in the Kentucky Derby prep races. Nehro is sired by Mineshaft and was expected to do well over distance, while also being a late closer. There was also underdog Comma to the Top, who was purchased for a mere $21K by MGM execs and went on to win six races earning them a cool $778,000.

The grandstands at Churchill Downs were filled with a record-breaking crowd of hat-donning spectators as the Win/Place/Show finishers crossed the line, completing first leg of the Triple Crown. What did you think of this year’s 2011 Kentucky Derby winner? Did you have your money on Animal Kingdom? Sports Interaction has one of the best online racebook‘s out there so if you want to get in on the Preakness and Belmont Stakes, get your odds today.