Mine That Bird wins the 2009 Kentucky Derby

I love stories like this: someone (or in this case, some horse) - who no one thought would be capable of much - does something amazing.

Mine That Bird dug up a miracle, stunning the field to win the Kentucky Derby with a dynamic stretch run through the mud at Churchill Downs.

The 3-year-old colt and jockey Calvin Borel found room along the rail deep in the stretch Saturday then pulled away to give the 50-1 long shot one of the biggest upsets in the 135-year history of the race.

UPDATE: Stop by Mark Beech's place at Sports Illustrated for his thoughts on today's race:

Folks, there is no sporting event in America quite as great as the Kentucky Derby. Nearly every other one worth mentioning is contested by millionaire athletes who are nothing like you, me and the guy down the street. But the Kentucky Derby brings those two worlds together. Mine That Bird beat eight horses who sold for at least $200,000 at auction. Two of those horses sold for more than $2 million. The crown prince of Dubai had two horses in this race. Mine That Bird also bested a colt who is the only horse owned and trained by a retired Louisville high school principal, as well as one owned by diet queen Jenny Craig. No other event in America makes a folk hero quite as quickly as the Kentucky Derby. It's not the greatest two minutes in sports for nothing.