If he won the Kentucky Derby, he stood to earn a $5 million "Centennial Bonus" offered by Oaklawn to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
[2] His leading rivals included Lion Heart (Hollywood Futurity, 2nd in Blue Grass Stakes),[4] Castledale (Santa Anita Derby),[5] The Cliff's Edge (Blue Grass Stakes),[6] Tapit (Wood Memorial),[7] Friends Lake (Florida Dery),[8] and Imperialism (San Rafael, 2nd in Santa Anita Derby).
[10] Lion Heart, breaking near the rail, ran a quick opening quarter mile of 22.99 seconds to get good position going into the first turn.
His jockey Mike Smith then started to slow down the pace, completing the half mile in 46.73 and three-quarters in 1:11.80.
Splits for each quarter-mile: (22.99) (23.74) (25.07) (25.55) (26.71) Source: Equibase Chart[1] Several horses went on to win Grade I races: Tapit – leading sire in North America 2014-2016[13] Birdstone Pollard's Vision Lion Heart Imperialism Read the Footnotes