The Derby kicked off on Saturday, May 4th; however, this year was special because it was the 150th annual Kentucky Derby. This means that the Run for the Roses has been going on since the 2nd Industrial Revolution and took place before WWI. This also makes it just 6 years younger than the first American football match ever played.

Kentucky Derby is a tradition to many people who live in Kentucky and some schools even give the day off so that people can celebrate the race and watch it. But why is it so big and popular?

The Derby is mainly big due to its prestigious title of being one of the biggest horse racing events in the world as described by many. It is the most continuous sport, never missing a year and always being a ginormous event for all. This is surprising, as the race is a mere 2 minutes long. However, people still insist on coming from all around the globe year after year.

The actual race may not be what interests people, but sometimes the individual horses can pique people's interest. The horses always have some way of being interesting or just funny. Some examples from this year are Just Steel, Just a Touch, Mystik Dan, and Domestic Product.

A good example of a horse name having more behind it is Mystik Dan, as his name is a combination of 2 things. One of his breeders, Daniel Hamby, decided to name Mystik Dan after his father, Dan, and his father’s first business venture, Mystik Tape. With this, the name Mystik Dan was born and that name will now go down in history, according to Sporting News.

The results of this year's Derby were stunning, because of the photo finish between 3 horses: Mystik Dan, Sierra Leone, and Forever Young, only having a nose length between them. After a replay of the finish, it was announced that Mystik Dan was the winner, which was a giant uptake as Mystik Dan's odds were 20-1.

Now, every horse has different odds, which predict who has the best shot of winning. The horse who was the favorite to win was Sierra Leone, with 3 to 1 odds, or a 33% chance. The horse that won, Mystik Dan, had 20 to 1 odds which is a 5% projected chance. This uptake was shocking as Dan went to head with Sierra Leone and was able to win, making this derby even more special.