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Justify wins 144th Kentucky Derby

Kentucky Derby 2018 was the wettest race day ever recorded, but that didn't stop favorite Justify.

Jusitfy won the 2018 Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs.

Justify is trained by Bob Baffert and was ridden by Mike Smith. He finished in 2:04.02 in what was the wettest Kentucky Derby in the history of the race.

Bob Baffert got his fifth victory in the Kentucky Derby. Justify, which remained the 3-1 betting pick less than an hour before the 144th Derby despite the rain throughout the day and the track downgraded to sloppy, was the runaway choice on social media with 14,700 mentions, according to Talkwalker.

Justify didn't race as a 2-year-old. They disproved an old jinx: No horse since Apollo in 1882 has won without racing as a juvenile.

Kentucky Derby 2018 will be remembered for at least one reason – it was the wettest race day ever recorded.

The National Weather Service recorded 2.61 inches of rain at Louisville International Airport on Saturday, as of 4:30 p.m. ET. That eclipsed the previous record of 2.31 inches, recorded on May 11, 1918.

Contributing: Louisville Courier Journal and Associated Press.

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