As Desormeaux and Big Brown cruised, many in the field beside him complained of being pinched, bumped, squeezed or otherwise inhibited.
But outside, Big Brown sailed, as did Eight Belles, Denis of Cork and Tale of Ekati.
Denis of Cork finished third, 3 1/2 lengths back, and Tale of Ekati came home fourth.
Recapturetheglory also had a good trip to finish fifth, and afterward, trainer Louie Roussel was delighted.
"I told you he'd run his heart out," said Roussel, who had not been to the Derby since finishing second with Risen Star 20 years earlier. "It took one hell of a horse to beat him. He was moving so good, and then Big Brown went by him and it really just ripped his heart out. He got it back together and ran on well. I'm so proud of my horse, but what about that Big Brown? Wow, what a horse!"
Big Brown's trainer, Rick Dutrow, had been telling everyone that for a week. His confidence irked some and amused others. But the trainer said he was simply telling the truth, the truth his horse was telling him.
He was not bothered by the No. 20 starting post. He was not bothered by the 20-horse field. He was not bothered by limited pre-race experience. He was not bothered by talk of Big Brown's bad feet, which Dutrow insisted were just fine and evidently were.
The trainer, who grew up in Maryland, told anyone who asked to bet his horse to win.
"It was just the way we envisioned things happening," Dutrow said. "We figured, `Hey, let's give our horse a chance to win the race.' We take 20, because maybe he gets one of those inside posts and somebody breaks sharper, comes over [on him]. With the outside post, we were guaranteed a good trip.
"And Big Brown puts himself wherever he wants to be in the race, and that's what he did."
The next stop is Pimlico Race Course and the Preakness.
"When you go after something and keep striving to get it [a Derby victory]," he said, "I mean you're after it and your mind keeps going in that direction. You want it. You want it. You want it. And I just kept wanting it. Now I want the Preakness."
sandra.mckee@baltsun.com
Derby at a glance
The top three finishers:
Horse Jockey
1. Big Brown Kent Desormeaux
2. Eight Belles Gabriel Saez
3. Denis of Cork Calvin Borel
Time: 2 minutes, 1.82 seconds Margin of victory: 4 3/4 lengths Winning trainer: Rick Dutrow Money: Big Brown paid $6.80, $5 and $4.80; Eight Belles paid $10.60 and $6.40; and Denis of Cork paid $11.60.
