Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is a stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses, staged yearly in Louisville, Kentucky on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race currently covers one and one-quarter miles (2.012 km) at Churchill Downs; colts and geldings carry 126 pounds (57 kg), fillies 121 (55). The race, known as "The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports" for its approximate time length, is the first leg of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in the United States. It typically draws around 155,000 fans.

Contents

1 Traditions 2 History 3 Winners of the Kentucky Derby 4 See also 5 External links

Traditions

In addition to the race itself, a number of traditions have played a large role in the Derby atmosphere. The Mint Julep, an iced drink consisting of bourbon, mint and sugar, is the traditional beverage of the race. Legal gambling on the race is done through parimutuel betting at the track. The infield, a spectator area inside the track, offers low general admission prices but little chance of seeing much of the race. Instead, revelers show up in the infield to party. By contrast, "Millionaire's Row" refers to the expensive box seats that attract the rich and famous. Elegant women appear in long dresses, big hats, and carrying fancy umbrellas. As the horses are paraded before the grandstands, "My Old Kentucky Home" is played by the University of Louisville marching band while the crowd stands and sings along.

The Derby is frequently referred to as "The Run for the Roses," because a garland of red roses is awarded to the Kentucky Derby winner each year. The tradition is as a result of New York socialite E. Berry Wall presenting roses to ladies at a post-Derby party in 1883 that was attended by Churchill Downs president, Col. M. Lewis Clark. This gesture is believed to have eventually led Clark to the idea of making the rose the race's official flower. However, it was not until 1896 that any recorded account referred to roses being draped on the Derby winner. The governor of Kentucky awards the garland and the trophy.

History

Organized horse racing in the State of Kentucky dates as far back as the late 1700s when several different race courses were built in and around the city of Louisville. In 1872, Col. M. Lewis Clark, traveled to England, visiting the Epsom Derby, a famous race that had been running annually since 1780. From there, Clark went on to Paris, France, where in 1863 a group of racing enthusiasts had formed the French Jockey Club and had organized the Grand Prix de Paris, which eventually became the famous Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

Returning home to Kentucky, Clark organized the Louisville Jockey Club for the purpose of raising money to build quality racing facilities just outside of the city. The track would soon become known as Churchill Downs, named for Lewis Clark's relatives, John and Henry Churchill, who had provided the land for the racetrack. Officially, the racetrack was incorporated as Churchill Downs in 1937.

The Kentucky Derby was first run at 1½ miles, the same distance as the Epsom Derby and the Grand Prix de Paris. In 1896 the distance was changed to its current 1¼ miles. On May 17, 1875, in front of an estimated crowd of 10,000 people, a field of 15 three-year-old horses contested the first Derby. Under African-American jockey Oliver Lewis, a colt named Aristides who was trained by future Hall of Famer, Ansel Williamson, won the inaugural Derby. Later that year, Lewis rode Aristides to a second-place finish in the Belmont Stakes.

Although the first race meet proved a success, the track ran into financial difficulties and in 1894 the New Louisville Jockey Club was incorporated with new capitalization and improved facilities. Despite this, the business floundered until 1902 when Col. Matt Winn of Louisville put together a syndicate of businessmen to acquire the facility. Under Winn, Churchill Downs prospered and the Kentucky Derby became the preeminent thoroughbred horse race in America.

Between 1875 and 1902, African-American jockeys won 15 of the 28 runnings of the Kentucky Derby. On May 11, 1892, African-American jockey Alonzo "Lonnie" Clayton, age 15, became the youngest rider to win the Derby. The 1904 race was won by Elwood, the first Derby starter and winner to be owned by a woman, Laska Durnell. In 1917, the English bred colt "Omar Khayyam" became the first foreign-bred horse to win the Derby.

As part of gaining income, horse owners began sending their successful Derby horses to compete a few weeks later in the Preakness Stakes at the Pimlico Race Course, in Baltimore, Maryland, followed by the Belmont Stakes in Elmont, New York. The three races offered the largest purse and in 1919 Sir Barton became the first horse to win all three races. However, the term Triple Crown didn't come into use until for another eleven years. In 1930, when Gallant Fox became the second horse to win all three races, sportswriter Charles Hatton brought the phrase into American usage. Fueled by the media, public interest in the possibility of a "superhorse" that could win the Triple Crown began in the weeks leading up to the Derby. Two years after the term was coined, the race, which had been run in mid-May since inception, was changed to the first Saturday in May to allow for a specific schedule for the Triple Crown races.

On May 3, 1952, the first national television coverage of the Kentucky Derby took place. In 1954, the purse exceeded $100,000 for the first time. Set by the great Secretariat in 1973, the fastest time ever run in the Derby (at its present distance) is 1 minute 59 2/5 seconds.

The 2004 Derby marked the first time that jockeys, as a result of a court order, were allowed to wear corporate advertising logos on their clothing.

In 2005, the purse distribution for the Derby was changed, so that horses finishing fifth would henceforth receive a share of the purse; previously only the first four finishers did so.

Winners of the Kentucky Derby

Year	Winner	Jockey	Trainer	Time
2005	Giacomo	Mike Smith	John Shirreffs	2:02.75
2004	Smarty Jones	Stewart Elliott	John Servis	2:04.06
2003	Funny Cide	José Santos	Barclay Tagg	2:01.19
2002	War Emblem	Victor Espinoza	Bob Baffert	2:01.13
2001	Monarchos	Jorge Chavez	John Ward Jr.	1:59.97
2000	Fusaichi Pegasus	Kent Desormeaux	Neil Drysdale	2:01
1999	Charismatic	Chris Antley	D. Wayne Lukas	2:03 1/5
1998	Real Quiet	Kent Desormeaux	Bob Baffert	2:02 1/5
1997	Silver Charm	Gary Stevens	Bob Baffert	2:02 2/5
1996	Grindstone	Jerry Bailey	D. Wayne Lukas	2:01
1995	Thunder Gulch	Gary Stevens	D. Wayne Lukas	2:01 1/5
1994	Go for Gin	Chris McCarron	Nick Zito	2:03 3/5
1993	Sea Hero	Jerry Bailey	Mack Miller	2:02 2/5
1992	Lil E. Tee	Pat Day	Lynn Whiting	2:03
1991	Strike the Gold	Chris Antley	Nick Zito	2:03
1990	Unbridled	Craig Perret	Carl Nafzger	2:02
1989	Sunday Silence	Pat Valenzuela	Charles Whittingham	2:05
1988	Winning Colors	Gary Stevens	D. Wayne Lukas	2:02 1/5
1987	Alysheba	Chris McCarron	Jack Van Berg	2:03 2/5
1986	Ferdinand	Bill Shoemaker	Charles Whittingham	2:02 4/5
1985	Spend a Buck	Angel Cordero, Jr.	Cam Gambolati	2:00 1/5
1984	Swale	Laffit Pincay, Jr.	Woody Stephens	2:02 2/5
1983	Sunny’s Halo	Eddie Delahoussaye	David Cross Jr.	2:02 1/5
1982	Gato Del Sol	Eddie Delahoussaye	Eddie Gregson	2:02 2/5
1981	Pleasant Colony	Jorge Velasquez	John Campo	2:02
1980	Genuine Risk	Jacinto Vasquez	LeRoy Jolley	2:02
1979	Spectacular Bid	Ron Franklin	Bud Delp	2:02 2/5
1978	Affirmed †	Steve Cauthen	Laz Barrera	2:01 1/5
1977	Seattle Slew †	Jean Cruguet	Billy Turner	2:02 1/5
1976	Bold Forbes	Angel Cordero, Jr.	Laz Barrera	2:01 3/5
1975	Foolish Pleasure	Jacinto Vasquez	LeRoy Jolley	2:02
1974	Cannonade	Angel Cordero, Jr.	Woody Stephens	2:04
1973	Secretariat †	Ron Turcotte	Lucien Laurin	1:59 2/5
1972	Riva Ridge	Ron Turcotte	Lucien Laurin	2:01 4/5
1971	Canonero II	Gustavo Avila	Juan Arias	2:03 1/5
1970	Dust Commander	Mike Manganello	Don Combs	2:03 2/5
1969	Majestic Prince	Bill Hartack	Johnny Longden	2:01 4/5
1968	Forward Pass	Ismael Valenzuela	Henry Forrest	2:02 1/5
1967	Proud Clarion	Bobby Ussery	Loyd Gentry	2:00 3/5
1966	Kauai King	Don Brumfield	Henry Forrest	2:02
1965	Lucky Debonair	Bill Shoemaker	Frank Catrone	2:01 1/5
1964	Northern Dancer	Bill Hartack	Horatio Luro	2:00
1963	Chateaugay	Braulio Baeza	James Conway	2:01 4/5
1962	Decidedly	Bill Hartack	Horatio Luro	2:00 2/5
1961	Carry Back	John Sellers	Jack Price	2:04
1960	Venetian Way	Bill Hartack	Victor Sovinski	2:02 2/5
1959	Tomy Lee	Bill Shoemaker	Frank Childs	2:02 1/5
1958	Tim Tam	Ismael Valenzuela	Horace A. "Jimmy" Jones	2:05
1957	Iron Liege	Bill Hartack	Horace A. "Jimmy" Jones	2:02 1/5
1956	Needles	David Erb	Hugh Fontaine	2:03 2/5
1955	Swaps	Bill Shoemaker	Mesh Tenney	2:01 4/5
1954	Determine	Raymond York	Willie Molter	2:03
1953	Dark Star	Hank Moreno	Eddie Hayward	2:02
1952	Hill Gail	Eddie Arcaro	Ben A. Jones	2:01 3/5
1951	Count Turf	Conn McCreary	Sol Rutchick	2:02 3/5
1950	Middleground	William Boland	Max Hirsch	2:01 3/5
1949	Ponder	Steve Brooks	Ben A. Jones	2:04 1/5
1948	Citation †	Eddie Arcaro	Ben A. Jones	2:05 2/5
1947	Jet Pilot	Eric Guerin	Tom Smith	2:06 4/5
1946	Assault †	Warren Mehrtens	Max Hirsch	2:06 3/5
1945	Hoop Jr	Eddie Arcaro	Ivan Parke	2:07
1944	Pensive	Conn McCreary	Ben A. Jones	2:04 1/5
1943	Count Fleet †	Johnny Longden	Don Cameron	2:04
1942	Shut Out	Wayne Wright	John M. Gaver	2:04 2/5
1941	Whirlaway †	Eddie Arcaro	Ben A. Jones	2:01 2/5
1940	Gallahadion	Carroll Bierman	Roy Waldron	2:05
1939	Johnstown	James Stout	Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons	2:03 2/5
1938	Lawrin	Eddie Arcaro	Ben A. Jones	2:04 4/5
1937	War Admiral †	Charley Kurtsinger	George Conway	2:03 1/5
1936	Bold Venture	Ira Hanford	Max Hirsch	2:03 3/5
1935	Omaha †	Willie Saunders	Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons	2:05
1934	Cavalcade	Mack Garner	Bob Smith	2:04
1933	Brokers Tip	Don Meade	Henry J. "Dick" Thompson	2:06 4/5
1932	Burgoo King	Eugene James	Henry J. "Dick" Thompson	2:05 1/5
1931	Twenty Grand	Charley Kurtsinger	James Rowe, Jr.	2:01 4/5
1930	Gallant Fox †	Earl Sande	Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons	2:07 3/5
1929	Clyde Van Dusen	Linus McAtee	Clyde Van Dusen	2:10 4/5
1928	Reigh Count	Chick Lang	Bert Micchell	2:10 2/5
1927	Whiskery	Linus McAtee	Fred Hopkins	2:06
1926	Bubbling Over	Albert Johnson	Henry J. "Dick" Thompson	2:03 4/5
1925	Flying Ebony	Earl Sande	William Duke	2:07 3/5
1924	Black Gold	John Mooney	Hanley Webb	2:05 1/5
1923	Zev	Earl Sande	David Leary	2:05 2/5
1922	Morvich	Albert Johnson	Fred Burlew	2:04 3/5
1921	Behave Yourself	Charles Thompson	Henry J. "Dick" Thompson	2:04 1/5
1920	Paul Jones	Ted Rice	Billy Garth	2:09
1919	Sir Barton †	Johnny Loftus	H. Guy Bedwell	2:09 4/5
1918	Exterminator	William Knapp	Henry McDaniel	2:10 4/5
1917	Omar Khayyam	Charles Borel	C.T. Patterson	2:04 3/5
1916	George Smith	Johnny Loftus	Hollie Hughes	2:04
1915	Regret	Joe Notter	James Rowe, Sr.	2:05 2/5
1914	Old Rosebud	John McCabe	F. D. Weir	2:03 2/5
1913	Donerail	Roscoe Goose	Thomas Hayes	2:04 4/5
1912	Worth	Carol Shilling	Frank Taylor	2:09 2/5
1911	Meridian	George Archibald	Albert Ewing	2:05
1910	Donau	Fred Herbert	George Ham	2:06 2/5
1909	Wintergreen	Vincent Powers	Charles Mack	2:08 1/5
1908	Stone Street	Arthur Pickens	J. W. Hall	2:15 1/5
1907	Pink Star	Andy Minder	W. H. Fizer	2:12 3/5
1906	Sir Huon	Roscoe Troxler	Pete Coyne	2:08 4/5
1905	Agile	Jack Martin	Robert Tucker	2:10 3/4
1904	Elwood	Shorty Prior	C. E. Durnell	2:08 1/2
1903	Judge Himes	Hal Booker	J. P. Mayberry	2:09
1902	Alan-a-Dale	Jimmy Winkfield	T. C. McDowell	2:08 3/4
1901	His Eminence	Jimmy Winkfield	F. P. Van Meter	2:07 3/4
1900	Lieut. Gibson	Jimmy Boland	Charles Hughes	2:06 1/4
1899	Manuel	Fred Taral	Robert Walden	2:12
1898	Plaudit	Willie Simms	John E. Madden	2:09
1897	Typhoon II	Buttons Garner	J. C. Cahn	2:12 1/2
1896	Ben Brush	Willie Simms	Hardy Campbell	2:07 3/4
1895	Halma	Soup Perkins	Byron McClelland	2:37 1/2
1894	Chant	Frank Goodale	Eugene Leigh	2:41
1893	Lookout	E. Kunze	William McDaniel	2:39 1/4
1892	Azra	Lonnie Clayton	John Morris	2:41 1/2
1891	Kingman	Isaac Murphy	Dud Allen	2:52 1/4
1890	Riley	Isaac Murphy	Edward Corrigan	2:45
1889	Spokane	Thomas Kiley	John Rodegap	2:34 1/2
1888	Macbeth II	George Covington	John Campbell	2:38
1887	Montrose	Isaac Lewis	John McGinty	2:39 1/4
1886	Ben Ali	Paul Duffy	Jim Murphy	2:36 1/2
1885	Joe Cotton	Babe Henderson	Alex Perry	2:37 1/4
1884	Buchanan	Isaac Murphy	William Bird	2:40 1/4
1883	Leonatus	Billy Donohue	John McGinty	2:43
1882	Apollo	Babe Hurd	Green Morris	2:40
1881	Hindoo	Jim McLaughlin	James Rowe, Sr.	2:40
1880	Fonso	George Lewis	Tice Hutsell	2:37 1/2
1879	Lord Murphy	Charlie Shauer	George Rice	2:37
1878	Day Star	Jimmy Carter	Lee Paul	2:37 1/4
1877	Baden Baden	Billy Walker	Ed Brown (aka "Dick")	2:38
1876	Vagrant	Bobby Swim	James Williams	2:38 1/4
1875	Aristides	Oliver Lewis	Ansel Williamson	2:37 3/4

A † designates a Triple Crown Winner
Note: In 1968, Dancer's Image finished first, but was disqualified after a post-race urine sample revealed traces of a banned drug in the horse. The drug in question - phenylbutazone - is now legal for use on racehorses in many states, including Kentucky.

See also

• Kentucky Oaks (sister race)

External links

• Kentucky Derby website (http://www.kentuckyderby.com/)
• Kentucky Derby Museum (http://www.derbymuseum.org/)
• Kentucky Derby Festival website (http://www.kdf.org/)

Adapted from the article Kentucky Derby (http://www.wikinfo.org/wiki.phtml?title=Kentucky_Derby), from Wikinfo, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.

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