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2025 Kentucky Derby: Kirk Herbstreit celebrates after picking Sovereignty to win

ns_headshot_2024-clearby: Nick Schultz05/04/25NickSchultz_7

Entering the 2025 Kentucky Derby, Journalism was the favorite to win horse racing’s biggest event. But it was Sovereignty who fought him off – and Kirk Herbstreit was among the group to celebrate.

Herbstreit picked Sovereignty at 3/1 odds to win Saturday’s race, according to TwinSpires Racing. Trained by Bill Mott, he put together a strong finish to the Kentucky Derby to fight off a late charge from Journalism, who made things interesting down the final stretch.

When Sovereignty crossed the finish line first, Herbstreit was able to cash in the winner. It was quite the day for the ESPN College GameDay and Prime Video NFL analyst after a thrilling race at Churchill Downs.

The state of the track often determines which horse can claim an advantage, based on their past experience on each surface. The weather forecast entering Saturday called for a high of 60 degrees with a 50-percent chance of rain at post time, setting the stage for wet conditions. That was the case, and Sovereignty ran well with a strong close to give Mott a Kentucky Derby victory in 2025.

Well before post time, as the horses began their walk to the gate, the mud was apparent as interviews took place on the NBC broadcast. It made for tricky track conditions for a field that didn’t have much experience running in the rain and mud.

Saturday’s race also saw the impact of Secretariat continue at Churchill Downs. Every horse in the field was a descendent of the 1973 Triple Crown winner, who became the first horse to ever run the Kentucky Derby in less than two minutes as part of his storied race that year.

Two horses in the field also looked to become the first Japanese horses to win the Kentucky Derby. Luxor Cafe had the third-best odds just before post time, while Admire Daytona was one of the long shots in the 19-horse field.

But ultimately, it was Sovereignty who prevailed on a muddy day at Churchill Downs. Mott’s first Kentucky Derby win came in 2019 when Country House got the victory after Maximum Security’s disqualification. This time, his horse clearly finished in first place – knocking off the favorite thanks to an impressive close down the final stretch to win the biggest event in horse racing.

Now, the question is whether Sovereignty will return in to weeks for the Preakness Stakes. Owner Michael Banahan deferred to Mott post-race, and they agreed conversations are likely to take place about vying for a Triple Crown.