Always a Runner wins the 152nd Kentucky Oaks, the first to run under the lights in prime time
This is the latest chapter in the filly’s remarkable journey from contracting pneumonia as a 2-year-old to beating some of the best 3-year-old competition around.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Always a Runner won the 152nd edition of the Kentucky Oaks on Friday night, the latest chapter in the filly’s remarkable journey from contracting pneumonia as a 2-year-old to beating some of the best 3-year-old competition around. Giving trainer Chad Brown his first Oaks victory, Always a Runner showed why he has thought so highly of her since she first got to the track.
Before that, her debut was delayed by illness that led to treatment in a hyperbaric chamber. Always a Runner had only raced twice before the biggest win of her career. “She was in a clinic with fluid in her lungs, and the wonderful team of veterinarians got her back to me,” Brown said.
“This filly is very resilient, very tough, as you saw today. Only two starts to do this, overcome pneumonia and patient owners. They always let me lead, and we always put the horse first and she took us here.
” Ridden by Jose Ortiz, Always a Runner made a move around the final turn and needed every bit of the stretch to pass Bob Baffert’s Explora and and Michael McCarthy’s Meaning before the finish line of the 1 1/8-mile race. It was the first Kentucky Oaks run under the lights in prime time. Meaning was second and Counting Stars third.