Nyquist, Owned by a Sunset Beach Man, Continues SoCal Domination at Kentucky Derby

For the third year in a row, a Southern California- based horse has won the Kentucky Derby.

The undefeated Nyquist, whose owner Paul Reddam is a Sunset Beach resident according to The Orange County Register, captured the 142nd edition of prestigious thoroughbred race today. The 3-year-old colt based at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia was a 2-to-1 betting favorite entering the race.

Finishing in second place was Exaggerator, who is also based in Southern California.

The owner and trainer of Nyquist said a couple weeks ago that he was hoping to duplicate what California Chrome did in 2014 and American Pharoah accomplished last year, with the latter going on to a Triple Crown victory and Breeders' Cup Classic win before retiring to stallion duty.

"I think it's a great opportunity for all of us in the horse racing world to take advantage of what American Pharoah and his connections did," Nyquist's trainer, Doug O'Neill, said in a teleconference hosted by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.

"I mean, they took horse racing from the back pages of the sports section, sometimes not even covered in the sports section, to the front page of the sports section," he said. "I look forward to having Nyquist be on the front of the sports section. I look forward to it being a real positive, good story for a great business that there's a lot of great people in. I'm excited about us following up the great year American Pharoah had ... Hopefully Nyquist can carry the torch farther."

Nyquist, who won an Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-colt after his win in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile, had won all seven races in his career, including three at Santa Anita and two at Del Mar.

Four years ago, the same team -- O'Neill, owner Reddam Racing LLC and jockey Mario Gutierrez -- won the Kentucky Derby with another Southern California horse, I'll Have Another, at odds of over 15-1 and then went on to win the Preakness. I'll Have Another missed the Belmont Stakes due to an injury that resulted in him being retired that year.

The colt is named in honor of Detroit Red Wings right wing Gustav Nyquist, with O'Neill telling reporters that Reddam has "really admired Gus' class and perseverance and hard work on the ice."

City News Service; Photo: Wikimedia Commons