Mike Smith rides Justify to victory during the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs Saturday, May 5, 2018, in Louisville, Ky. Associated Press/Kiichiro Sato

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Justify splashed through the slop to win the Kentucky Derby by 2½ lengths on Saturday, becoming the first colt in 136 years to wear the roses after not racing as a 2-year-old. More: Mike Smith is the jockey everyone wants in big races

More: More Derby picks from the experts

Moreover, Justify is 3-for-3 in his career, was visually impressive in winning the Santa Anita Derby, has looked comfortable galloping over the Churchill Downs track and is trained by four-time Derby winner Bob Baffert. 9): The Juddmonte Farms homebred finished a good second in the Florida Derby, which was just his third career start.
Pre-race favorite Justify wins the Kentucky Derby, becoming the first horse since 1882 to win the race while unraced as a two-year-old. The race was run under the wettest conditions in its history; by post time, more than 2.8 inches (7.1 cm) of rain had fallen on race day, breaking a record that had lasted since 1918.