Always a Runner wins the 152nd Kentucky Oaks, the first to run under the lights in prime time

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. Always a Runner paid $13.04 to win, $7.46 to place and $5.44 to show.

Always a Runner impressed Ortiz, who had never ridden her in a race before the Oaks — just a morning workout.

“Chad was very confident in her,” said Ortiz, who won five races on Friday at Churchill Downs. “He knew what he had. He told me, ‘Just go out there, get to know her in the work and you’re going to feel like a sports car, like she’s a Ferrari.’ And he was right. I loved the way she worked, and here we are. We won.”

Brown will try to pull off the Oaks-Kentucky Derby double on Saturday with Emerging Market, who also had pneumonia as a 2-year-old and has only raced twice. He has also never won the Derby.

“I stick with things that are working,” Brown said. “So, two starts, we should be good.”

The first night Kentucky Oaks was one for the history books, but also took place in front of large swaths of empty seats. Many of the fans who filled the grandstand and the track from the late morning through the afternoon had departed before sunset. The Oaks has typically been run before 6 p.m.