Sovereignty won the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

The closer pulled away from favorite Journalism in a two-horse race to the wire to win the Run for the Roses in 2:02.31.

With speed horses Neoequos, Citizen Bull, East Avenue and Owen Almighty setting the pace all the way to the stretch, Sovereignty followed Journalism in their run to the front.

After a nose-to-nose battle, Sovereignty powered through the mud for the colt’s third win in six outings.

Sovereignty paid $17.96 to win, $7.50 to place and $5.58 to show.

Journalism paid $4.94 to place and $3.70 to show.

Baeza paid $8.38 to show.

The $2 exacta paid $48.32.

The $1 trifecta paid $231.12.

The $1 superfecta, with fourth-place finisher Final Gambit joining the top three, paid $1,682.27.

Sovereignty became this year’s candidate to become the 14th Triple Crown winner in the history of U.S. thoroughbred racing. The next race in the Triple Crown is the Preakness Stakes on May 17 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.

Sovereignty had won $572,800 entering Saturday’s race, which paid $3.1 million to the winner.

Last year at Churchill Downs, Sovereignty had come from ninth over the final 2.5 furlongs to win the Grade 3 Street Sense Stakes by 5 lengths to close his 2-year-old campaign.

As a 3-year-old, Sovereignty had won the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes by a neck with another big stretch run on March 1, then came up 1.25 lengths short of winner Tappan Street in the Grade 1 Florida Derby in his last time out on March 29.

Sovereignty’s victory was the second in the Kentucky Derby for trainer William Mott, who saddled Country House, who won the 2019 Run for the Roses via disqualification. Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. rode his first Kentucky Derby winner.

The order of finish for the 151st Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, was:

1. Sovereignty

2. Journalism

3. Baeza

4. Final Gambit

5. Owen Almighty

6. Burnham Square

7. Sandman

8. East Avenue

9. Chunk of Gold

10. Tiztastic

11. Coal Battle

12. Luxor Cafe

13. Neoequos

14. Publisher

15. Citizen Bull

16. American Promise

17. Render Judgment

18. Flying Mohawk

19. Admire Daytona

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X @AMarkG1.