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Justify Wins Kentucky Derby, Conquering Rain, Mud and a 136-Year Curse

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Since 1882, when the Standard Oil Trust was formed, Franklin D. Roosevelt was born and the electrical age began with the flip of a switch that lit up one square mile of Lower Manhattan, no horse has won the Kentucky Derby without racing at the age of 2.

The horse that did it way back then was the chestnut gelding Apollo, named after the Greek god of many things, including the paradoxical powers to both heal and plague. He caught the favorite Runnymede in deep stretch to win by a half-length and earn the heaping sum of $4,560.