LLOUISVILLE, Ky. — It was a wire-to-wire win for Thorpedo Anna in 150th running of the $1.5 million Longines Kentucky Oaks.
Thorpedo Anna gave trainer Kenny McPeek and jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. their first Kentucky Oaks victory. This was the sixth time Hernandez has ridden a horse in the Oaks.
The Oaks—a 1 1/8 mile race—featured 14 3-year-old fillies running on a sloppy, mud-filled track.
Thorpedo Anna broke from post position 5 and led the entire way. When the horses hit the stretch run, she pulled away from the competition. Thorpedo Anna has four wins in only five career starts.
Morning-line odds had her at 5-1 after the post position draw Saturday, April 27. When the race started, she was at 4-1.
Here is how the top 3 finished in the historic 150th running of the Oaks.
The 3-year-old filly was bred in Kentucky had to overcome a lot of obstacles to find her way to the Winner’s Circle at Churchill Downs. She had a four-month layoff before she got to the starting gate at Oaklawn Park for the Grade 2 Fantasy Stakes. Thorpedo Anna blasted her way to a four-length victory, besting nine other horses to earn her spot in the Kentucky Oaks.
The Oaks was the 11th race of a 13-race card at Churchill Downs. The track reported attendance at the rain-soaked event at 107,236, an increase from last year.
The first half of the day’s races went off under a steady drizzle, and the rain tapered off to intermittent showers throughout the afternoon. An allowance optional claiming race on turf was moved to the dirt and resulted in eight scratches.
Spectrum News 1 meteorologists say rain is a possibility for Saturday’s $5 million Kentucky Derby.