(CNN) Mage won the 149th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday.
The 3-year-old chestnut colt, trained by Gustavo Delgado, outpaced Two Phil’s, who crossed the line to finish in second place, and Angel of Empire finished third, in front of more than 150,000 fans in attendance.
Mage’s victory came after the favored Forte was scratched from the race earlier in the day after a Kentucky Horse Racing Commission veterinarian found the horse had a bruised right front leg, Churchill Downs said.
Forte is listed as a 3-1 morning line favorite to win the first leg of the sport’s Triple Crown. Forte was the fifth horse to be scratched from the race and thus the number of horses in the main event dropped to 18. This was the first time since 1936 that five horses were scratched from the Derby.
“I never give up, I always try,” said jockey Javier Castellano. “It took me a little while to get there, to finally get it.” The win was the first Kentucky Derby for Castellano in 16 tries.
Mage, ridden by Javier Castellano, left, tracks down the straight on the final turn.
Before the Kentucky Derby, Mage had just one win in three career starts. On Saturday, he completed the “Greatest two minutes in Sports” with a time of 2:01.57.
Mage now has a chance to continue his pursuit of the elusive Triple Crown in the Preakness Stakes in Maryland on May 20. The third leg is the Belmont Stakes in New York on June 10.
Seven horses died in the lead-up to Saturday’s race
This year’s Derby has been marred by an unusually high number of horse deaths in the days leading up to the main event, and two more died in previous races on Saturday. In total, seven horses have died since April 27.
Chloe’s Dream and Freezing Point both had “sustained career injuries from which they could not heal on Saturday, and for humane reasons, both were euthanized,” according to Darren Rogers, senior director of communications and media services for Churchill Downs.
Last Friday, racehorse trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. has been suspended indefinitely from Churchill Downs following the “highly unusual” deaths of two of his horses, Parents Pride and Chasing Artie.
Three other horses — not trained by Joseph — also died in recent days. According to Churchill Downs, Wild on Ice, a Derby contender, was injured in training on Thursday and Take Charge Briana was injured in a race on Tuesday. Both were “euthanized for humane reasons.”
On April 29, the 3-year-old gelding Code of Kings died after breaking his neck in Churchill’s temporary paddock before a race, according to the Daily Racing Form.
The animal rights organization PETA released a statement after the two deaths on Saturday, saying, “Churchill Downs is a killing field. Freezing Point is the latest casualty. The Kentucky Derby . They should play ‘Taps’ at the Derby instead of ‘My Old Kentucky Home.'”
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the location of Churchill Downs. It’s in Louisville.
CNN’s Homero DeLaFuente contributed to this report.
