CINCINNATI, Ohio — “Who is Sonny Leon?”

That’s a question Noah Platt said he hears now. The day after the Kentucky Derby, Platt was checking in on the horses at Belterra Park, a racetrack in Cincinnati. Platt said he’s known Sonny Leon for years and met him around the time his dad got a trainer’s license and introduced him to the racing industry. Platt said Leon is a friend.

“Sonny’s a great guy. He’s hilarious. He’s just down to earth,” Platt said.

Leon was riding at Belterra Park Friday before riding in the Derby (Spectrum News 1/Katie Forcade)

Platt said Leon was riding at Belterra Park on Friday, May 6 when the news came that he would be riding Rich Strike in the 148th Kentucky Derby the next day, May 7. He said Rich Strike statistically on paper did not have many odds in the team’s favor.

“Nobody thought he belonged there. It was just a shot in the dark and it paid off,” Platt said.

The connections for Rich Strike meet with media after winning Kentucky Derby 148. Trainer Eric Reed and Sonny Leon were both participating in their first Kentucky Derby. (Spectrum News 1/Andrew Bennett)

Platt said he watched his friend and Rich Strike take down a field of 20 horses with 80-1odds. Together they pulled one of the biggest upsets in Derby history coming out victorious. It was also Leon’s first mount at the Derby.

“I couldn’t be more proud to know Sonny and Eric and his assistant and groom Jerry. They’re all great people. Couldn’t be more proud to say that I know him and I’m friends with him,” he said.

He said this is the story that answers the ultimate question he’s asked. With this, now people know who Leon is.