6:50 p.m.

American Pharoah is the winner of the 141st Kentucky Derby. Jockey Victor Espinosa earned his second straight Derby win by guiding the favorite through a three-way stretch duel with Firing Line and Dortmund. American Pharoah thundered along the outside to give trainer Bob Baffert his fourth Kentucky Derby win and first since 2002.

Firing Line, with 52-year old jockey Gary Stevens aboard, finished second with previously unbeaten Dortmund third.

5:28 p.m.

Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul enjoyed the early races of the Kentucky Derby day in a pink shirt and striped tie.

The U.S. Senator from Kentucky said he is picking Carpe Diem, winner of the Tampa Day Derby.

“I like the name,” he said.

Paul might also like the horse’s Kentucky background. Carpe Diem was born in Kentucky, trains in Kentucky and is owned by Kentucky-based WinStar Farms and Stonestreet Stables.

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4:06 p.m.

Depending on where you want to watch the Kentucky Derby, last-minute tickets can be considered reasonable if you don’t mind partying with a few thousand friends in Churchill Downs’ infield.

They may be out of reach if you want to rub elbows with the high rollers on the upper levels.

Tickets prices averaged $548 on the secondary ticket market reseller StubHub.com about 2 ½ hours before post time.

On the low end, tickets were $43 for infield general admission, within range of most folks seeking entry on the backside. At the far, far extreme were upper clubhouse seats that were going for $11,014.

Either way, StubHub said that sales are up 62 percent. Not surprisingly, Kentucky was the runaway leader in Geo stats with 24 percent of sales with Texas a distant second at 10 percent.

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3:50 p.m.

Two jockeys made an appearance near the paddock and passers-by scrambled to snap photos with them.

“Being a jockey has been the most gratifying experience in my life,” professed Matt Rose.

Only Rose weighs 260 pounds and stands 6-foot-9, a couple heads higher than the average jockey. And he’s never actually ridden a horse.

He and a friend, both from Illinois, donned polyester jockey suits, complete with little caps and whips, for the Derby and tried to trick as many people as they could.

“I gave up my job to commit full-time to being a jockey,” he declared. His friends stood around giggling, regaling the onlookers with tales of Rose training for his big race debut by riding a mechanical bull.

Rose is actually a fireman.

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3:09 p.m.

A few New England personalities used to a different kind of running found their way to Churchill Downs.

3 p.m.

Johnny Weir’s choice of flashy hats usually grabs as much attention as the Kentucky Derby favorite. He calls this year’s choice his “mohawk” hat: a garland of red roses with an ice-cold mint julep on top. His shiny gold suit resembles pajamas along with black and gold loafers, a gold Rolex and even a gilded microphone for his NBC broadcasting job with sidekick and former fellow ice skater Tara Lipinski. Last year Weir made a splash with a tall white feathery hat with a white Pegasus horse bursting from the plume.

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2:38 p.m.

Celebrity chef Bobby Flay cooked up a winner in the $300,000 Humana Distaff as Dame Dorothy edged Judy the Beauty by a neck in a rousing battle to the wire. The 4-year-old filly is named for his mother.

It was the second stakes win of the day for trainer Todd Pletcher, who saddles three runners later in the Derby: Carpe Diem, Materiality and Itsaknockout.

Dame Dorothy won for the sixth time in eight starts. She paid $7.20 to win. Javier Castellano was aboard for the seven furlongs in 1:22.67.

Judy the Beauty suffered a tough-luck loss in her comeback, the first race since she captured the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint last November at Santa Anita.

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2:35 p.m.

Divisidero has a marvelous closing kick.

He flashed that powerful move in a bold run down the center of the course for an upset in the $250,000 American Turf Stakes for 3-year-olds.

The colt trained by Buff Bradley and ridden by Rafael Hernandez is now 2 for 3 after rallying from 11th to beat A Lot by three quarters of a length.

He made some Derby Day long shot fans happy with a $19.20 payoff to win.

The time was 1:41.59 for the 1 1/16 miles on the firm course.

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1:50

The $200,000 Derby Trial for 3-year-olds, the traditional opening day feature at Churchill Downs, has a new name and a new spot on the calendar.

It has been rechristened the Pat Day Mile, in honor of the retired Hall of Fame rider, and now kicks off the stakes undercard on Derby Day.

Day, dapper in a dark suit, was on hand for the trophy presentation to a winner with a very bright future.

Competitive Edge improved to 4 for 4 with another commanding win. He beat Pain and Misery by 4 1/2 lengths with John Velazquez aboard for trainer Todd Pletcher, paying $4.60 to win as the 6-5 favorite.

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1:30 p.m.

Spotted on the red carpet at Churchill Downs gettin’ ready for the Derby were Singer Josh Groban, wearing a blue suit with no tie;

Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater, former Louisville star; Anna Nicole Smith’s daughter, Dannielynn Birkhead and the girl’s father, Larry Birkhead; Cheech Marin, wearing an off-white linen suit, no tie; singer Johnny Gill; and former Playboy model Kendra Wilkinson, who, when asked about Derby parties, replied, “They are the best, last night we partied hard.”

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