How did Rich Strike, an 81-1 long shot, win the Kentucky Derby? Watch this

The Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike wasn't entered into the race until the day before, when another horse was scratched. So it was misfortune elsewhere that even gave the horse a chance.

Rich Strike was lightly regarded. The Star Tribune's preview graphic of the race offered a glimmer or hope while being pretty much dismissive, in other words what you would expect about an 81-1 longshot: "Distance should not be a problem but quality of field will be for horse that has won once in seven starts." An analyst from the Daily Racing Form called Rich Strike "hardly a threat."

So what happened?

First, in case you haven't see it, here's a look at the race as it was seen on TV. There's a hint of what's to come less than halfway through when announcer Larry Collmus describes the pace as "a half-mile in — WHOA! — a blazing fast 45.36 seconds."

What was going on here?

The horses with better reputations than Rich Strike — pretty much all of them — were running at a pace that most couldn't sustain. For example, the horse that was leading at the half-mile mark, Summer Is Tomorrow, ended up last — 64 ¹⁄₄ lengths behind the winner.

Messier, the horse in front three-quarters of a mile into the race, finished 15th.

So the race was set up for a horse for whom "distance should not be a problem."

Watching the race in real time, though, doesn't tell as much as this replay, which shows Rich Strike moving from 18th place to the lead in the final half-mile. Among those are stunned to see this happen is Collmus, who doesn't mention the horse until ...

Take a watch and a listen:

The payouts were staggering. A $1 exacta bet — picking the top two horses in order — paid $2,050.60, a huge haul under any circumstances but even more so with the favorite, Epicenter, coming in second. A 50-cent trifecta — picking the top three horses in order — paid $7,435.35.

Canterbury Park officials reported that one person who made a bet through the track hit the superfecta bet — getting the top four horses in the right order — for a $321,500.10 payout on a $1 wager.

More on the race is in Star Tribune reporter Rachel Blount's story from Churchill Downs.