Kentucky Derby favorite Nyquist drinks from Stanley Cup (Photo)

The favorite for the Kentucky Derby got a special visitor before The Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs.

Nyquist is the favorite to win the Kentucky Derby that gets underway later today and if that name sounds familiar it’s because he’s named after Detroit Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist.

The NHL sharpshooter makes his living chasing the Stanley Cup for one of the best franchises in the NHL but it was his namesake that got to spend some time with Lord Stanley’s Cup on Saturday morning as he preps for the biggest race of his life.

While most of us human folk prefer a nice cereal bowl or a mug to get our morning refreshment, Nyquist went first-class and drank out of the Cup like so many NHL champions have done.

Nyquist has never lost a race in his career and brings a perfect 7-0 record into Churchill Downs where he is the favorite to win the Kentucky Derby. The morning odds list him as a 2-1 favorite so if you’re looking to cash in with a Derby bet today, you’ll want to find a horse with longer odds than this.

But there are some long odds Nyquist will have to overcome if he wants to extend his perfect record to 8-0 and win the first leg of the Triple Crown.

Nyquist is the 27th horse to enter the race undefeated, but the last undefeated horse to win the Kentucky Derby was Big Brown in 2008.

If Nyquist is successful and holds off the rest of the field, this will mark the fourth straight year the favorite won. That hasn’t happened since 1975.

And if he does win, it’ll be the first Derby win for trainer Doug O’Neill who won the Derby in 2012 with I’ll Have Another.

For more coverage of the Kentucky Derby, you can visit our hub page.