Winning jockey's hot streak hits peak of

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Joel Rosario maximized the opportunity aboard Orb that John Velazquez passed on in the Kentucky Derby.

Rosario rode Orb to victory Saturday because Velazquez turned down the chance.

Rosario had ridden Orb five times with two wins before Velazquez took the reins for back-to-back stakes wins that made Orb a Derby favorite. Prior commitments kept Rosario from riding Orb in both races.

Velazquez chose to return to Verrazano — the horse he guided to a 4-0 record entering the Derby — and ended up 13 spots behind Rosario and Orb.

"It feels like I'm dreaming, I cannot believe I won the Kentucky Derby," Rosario said.

For the native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, it was his first Derby victory in his fourth try. It also continued a torrid tear in the commonwealth for Rosario. Riding full-time at Keene-land this year for the first time, Rosario shattered the track's spring meet record with 38 victories. On the first Saturday night of the Churchill Downs spring meeting, Rosario won five times.

"Forever, right?" Rosario said, asked how much he loved the Bluegrass State these days.

First cousins Ogden Mills "Dinny" Phipps and Stuart Janney III are the latest in the line of racing royalty that finished second in the race twice, sold a future Kentucky Derby winner and lost the chance to own the greatest Thoroughbred ever, Secretariat, thanks to a coin flip.

Those missed chances were forgotten Saturday when Orb, who they own together, won the 139th Derby.

"It's really the culmination of horse racing, and I am thrilled to be here today," Phipps said.

Said Janney: "I just couldn't be more delighted that we're doing this together."

• Hall of Fame Jockey Gary Stevens came out of retirement this year and rode 30-1 long shot Oxbow to a sixth-place finish. Stevens is a three-time Derby winner. The 50-year-old jockey is four months into a comeback after being retired for seven years. "I've got a smile on my face I can't wipe off," Stevens said.

• Despite being one of the biggest names in horse racing, Todd Pletcher has struggled at the Derby, and that continued. Pletcher is 1-for-36 with mounts in the Run to the Roses, with Revolutionary coming in third for his best finish on Saturday. He saddled a record-tying five horses, and the rest of Pletcher's group finished between ninth and 13th place.