Slew’s Tizzy wins Lexington Stakes, gets in the Kentucky Derby

The Coolmore Lexington Stakes is the final official prep race to the Kentucky Derby – and what an unlikely Derby contender it produced for all thoroughbred horse racing fans watching the 133rd Road to the Roses.

Slew’s Tizzy became infamous this winter as the longshot who stumbled and lost his rider during the Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds, nearly derailing the Kentucky Derby hopes of Circular Quay, who was fortunate to avert injury when narrowly dodging the incident.

Slew’s Tizzy became known for a far better reason Saturday, when 33,821, the largest crowd in the 71-year history of Keeneland, turned out to watch him go wire-to-wire when pulling a stunning 40-1 upset in the 26th running of the $325,000 Lexington Stakes.

As the final graded prep for the May 5 Kentucky Derby, the Grade 2 Lexington is a free ticket to the Derby, which trainer Greg Fox said he and owner-breeder Joe LaCombe were not initially inclined to accept because “our philosophy is we don’t run horses back in two weeks.” Slew’s Tizzy earned $201,500, more than enough to make the Derby on the basis of graded earnings, the criteria for Derby entry in case of more than 20 entries.

Slew’s Tizzy, a Kentucky-bred by Tiznow, returned $83 as the longest shot in a field of nine 3-year-olds after finishing 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.20 over Polytrack. Lexington Stakes at DRF (subscription)

Here is a rather low quality video of the Coolmore Lexington race via utub.