what kind of horses race in the kentucky derby
2017 Road to the Kentucky Derby


The 2017 Road to the Kentucky Derby was a series of races through which horses qualified for the 2017 Kentucky Derby, which was held on May 6. The field for the Derby was limited to 20 horses, with up to four 'also eligibles' in case of a late withdrawal from the field. The Road to the Kentucky Derby gives points to the top four finishers in specified races. The 2017 season consisted of 35 races, 19 races for the Kentucky Derby Prep Season and 16 races for the Kentucky Derby Championship Season
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2014 Road to the Kentucky Derby


The 2014 Road to the Kentucky Derby was a series of races in which horses earned points to qualify for the 2014 Kentucky Derby. The points system replaced the previous qualifying method that looked at earnings in hundreds of graded stakes races worldwide. The series is divided into two phases, the Kentucky Derby Prep Season and the Kentucky Derby Championship Series. The top 20 point earners earned a spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate. Up to 24 horses could enter the race and four horses can be listed as "also eligible" and
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2013 Road to the Kentucky Derby


The 2013 Road to the Kentucky Derby was based on a points system that replaced the previous system which consisted of about 185 graded stakes races worldwide. The series is divided into two phases, the Kentucky Derby Prep Season and the Kentucky Derby Championship Series. The top 20 point earners earned a spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate. Up to 24 horses could enter the race and four horses can be listed as "also eligible" and would be ranked in order accordingly in case any horse(s) be scratched prior to the race
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2018 Road to the Kentucky Derby


The 2018 Road to the Kentucky Derby was a series of races through which horses qualified for the 2018 Kentucky Derby, which was held on May 5. The field for the Derby was limited to 20 horses, with up to four 'also eligibles' in case of a late withdrawal from the field. There were three separate paths for horses to take to qualify for the Derby: the main Road consisting of 34 races in North America plus one in Dubai, the Japan Road consisting of three races in Japan, and a
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2019 Road to the Kentucky Derby


The 2019 Road to the Kentucky Derby was a series of races through which horses qualified for the 2019 Kentucky Derby, which was held on May 4, 2019. The field for the Derby is limited to 20 horses, with up to four 'also eligibles' in case of a late withdrawal from the field. There are three separate paths for horses to take to qualify for the Derby: the main Road consisting of races in North America (plus one in Dubai), the Japan Road consisting of four races in Japan
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Kentucky Derby Museum


The Kentucky Derby Museum is an American Thoroughbred horse racing museum located on the grounds of Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Dedicated to preserving the history of the Kentucky Derby, it first opened its doors to the public in the spring of 1985. Much of its early funding came from a donation from the estate of James Graham Brown. The museum consists of two floors of exhibit space, including a 360-degree theater that shows the HD video "The Greatest Race". Through the film and exhibits, visitors can learn what goes
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Latonia Derby


The Latonia Derby was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually from 1883 through 1937 at Latonia Race Track in Latonia, Kentucky.Open to three-year-old horses, for its first 52 years the Latonia Derby was contested at a mile and a half then in 1935 the distance was shortened to a mile and a quarter. It was run as the Hindoo Stakes from inception in 1883 to 1886 in honor of the Kentucky-bred U.S. Racing Hall of Fame horse, Hindoo. The race usually attracted the Kentucky Derby winner
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2019 Kentucky Derby


The 2019 Kentucky Derby (officially, the 2019 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve) was the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby, and took place on Saturday, May 4, 2019, in Louisville, Kentucky. The field was open to 20 horses, who qualified for the race by earning points on the 2019 Road to the Kentucky Derby. The Derby is held annually on the first Saturday in May, at the end of the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. It is a Grade I stakes race for
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1973 Kentucky Derby


The 1973 Kentucky Derby was the 99th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Secretariat won the Derby in a record time of 1:, lengths ahead of Sham, while Our Native finished in third position. Of the thirteen horses that entered and started the race, all horses completed the event. The event was viewed in person by a then-record crowd of 134,476, while also being broadcast both on television and over the radio. In the days leading up to the race, Secretariat was
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Magnum Moon


think he's proven that he's the kind of horse that doesn't need the race to unfold a certain way, that he's able to kind of make his own race". Magnum Moon entered the 2018 Kentucky Derby as one of the favorites but broke poorly and was never in contention, finishing 19th. "It was just bumper cars for a while," said Pletcher. "He just got into a position he'd never been in before behind horses, eating a lot of slop. Just never was able
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2017 Kentucky Derby


The 2017 Kentucky Derby (in full, the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands, due to sponsorship) was the 143rd running of the Kentucky Derby, and took place on Saturday, May 6, 2017. The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held each year in Louisville, Kentucky, on the first Saturday in May, at the end of the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. It is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of , and has been run
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2015 Kentucky Derby


Jockey Victor Espinoza rode American Pharoah to victory after taking the lead in the homestretch. The race marked the fourth Kentucky Derby win for horse trainer Bob Baffert and the third win for Espinoza. The Kentucky Derby is a race for 3-year-old Thoroughbred horses. The 2015 field was determined by a points system that was introduced in 2013. The post position draw of the entries for the Kentucky Derby was held on Wednesday, April 29, 2015, at the Churchill Downs Racetrack clubhouse. American Pharoah was installed as the 5-
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2016 Road to the Kentucky Derby


The field for the Kentucky Derby is limited each year to 20 horses, with two 'also eligibles' in case of a late withdrawal from the field. To determine eligibility, Churchill Downs developed the Road to the Kentucky Derby, which gives points to the top four finishers in specified races. The 2016 season consists of 34 races, 19 races for the Kentucky Derby Prep Season and 15 races for the Kentucky Derby Championship Season. Earnings in non-restricted stakes act as a tie breaker. Gun Runner finished first in the
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2016 Kentucky Derby


The 2016 Kentucky Derby was the 142nd running of the Kentucky Derby. The race was run at 6:51 pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on May 7, 2016 at Churchill Downs. The race was broadcast in the United States on the NBC television network. The second largest attendance of 167,227 was on hand for the event. The Kentucky Derby is a race for 3-year-old Thoroughbred horses. The 2016 field was determined by the Road to the Kentucky Derby points system that was first introduced in 2013. The Post Position Draw
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Kentucky Derby Challenge Stakes


The Kentucky Derby Challenge Stakes was an English Thoroughbred horse race intended to become an annual race, but was run only one time on 18 March 2009 at Kempton Park Racecourse in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey. Open to three-year-old European horses, it was raced clockwise at a distance of nine furlongs ( miles, app. 1800 metres) on Polytrack. The winner of the race was guaranteed one of the twenty starting spots in the mile (10 furlongs) 2009 Kentucky Derby held on the first Saturday
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2011 Kentucky Derby


The 2011 Kentucky Derby was the 137th running of the Kentucky Derby, on May 7. The race was won by Animal Kingdom, ridden by John Velazquez, trained by H. Graham Motion and owned by Team Valor. The race took place on Saturday, May 7, 2011, and was televised in the United States on the NBC television network. A record crowd of 164,858 was on hand at the track for the race. The winning horse, Animal Kingdom (16), came up on the outside, passing 3 horses
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Road to the Kentucky Derby


the Kentucky Derby" point system was created in 2012 to establish a "clear, practical and understandable path" to the first leg of horse racing's Triple Crown, according to the official website of Churchill Downs. A poll conducted by Churchill Downs prior to the changes showed 83% of respondents did not understand how horses became starters for the Kentucky Derby. The previous system was based on earnings from all graded stakes races, which essentially gave equal weight to earnings from juvenile races, sprints and even races on the turf as
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2013 Kentucky Derby


, the colts making the field in the Kentucky Derby qualified under a new points system. In years past, colts qualified based on graded stakes earnings. A total of thirty-six races, with the first coming last year, gave Derby starters an opportunity to accumulate points towards an entry into the race. Twenty horses qualified for the Kentucky Derby with two other horses ("Fear the Kitten" and "Carving") listed as "also eligible" in case one of the starters would be scratched prior to the opening
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Horse racing in the United States


longer, distance contests, Quarter Horse races are run flat out, with the horses running at top speed for the duration. There is less jockeying for position, as turns are rare, and many races end with several contestants grouped together at the wire. The track surface is similar to that of Thoroughbred racing and usually consists of dirt. The traditional high point of US horse racing is the Kentucky Derby, held on the first Saturday of May at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Together, the Derby; the Preakness
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Stepping Stone Purse


The Stepping Stone Purse was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in the latter part of April at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Open to three-year-old horses, it was, along with the Derby Trial Stakes, one of two final prep races hosted by Churchill Downs running up to the Kentucky Derby. In 1959, Sword Dancer won the Stepping Stone Purse, then ran second in the Kentucky Derby before winning the Belmont Stakes. The following year, Bally Ache won this race then ran second in the
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Road to the Kentucky Derby


to the traditional Derby prep races. The new system completely disregards sprint races, and places heavy weight on later races, thus putting a premium on recent results. The points system has changed the way horses are prepared for the Derby, the composition of the field and how the race itself is run given the absence of pure sprinters to ensure a fast early pace. The series is divided into two phases, the Kentucky Derby Prep Season and the Kentucky Derby Championship Series. The prep season consists of early races on dirt or
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1968 Kentucky Derby


The 1968 Kentucky Derby was the 94th running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 4, 1968. The race is best known for being the first Kentucky Derby where the winning horse was subsequently disqualified. Dancer's Image won the race, but was disqualified to last after traces of phenylbutazone were discovered in the mandatory post-race urinalysis. Second-place finisher Forward Pass was declared the winner. The controversy filled the sporting news of media outlets in North America and was a cover story for "Sports Illustrated
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Blue Larkspur


great deal of money riding on Black Servant. Blue Larkspur was trained by Herbert J. "Derby Dick" Thompson, an inductee of the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame. Derby Dick was not kind to horses, working them hard. Thompson won more Kentucky Derbies than any other trainer before Ben Jones. Racing as a two-year-old, Blue Larkspur started seven times. He won the Juvenile Stakes, the National Stallion Stakes, and the Saratoga Special Stakes. He was beaten in the Hopeful Stakes by Jack
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2015 Road to the Kentucky Derby


The 2015 Road to the Kentucky Derby is a point system by which horses qualified for the 2015 Kentucky Derby. It consisted of 35 races, 19 races for the Kentucky Derby Prep Season and 16 races for the Kentucky Derby Championship Season. "Updated April 29, 2015." "Note: 1st=10 points; 2nd=4 points; 3rd=2 points; 4th=1 point" "Note: 1st=50 points; 2nd=20 points; 3rd=10 points; 4th=5 points" "Note: 1st=100 points; 2nd=40 points; 3rd=20 points; 4th=10 points" "Note
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Kentucky Derby


The Kentucky Derby is a horse race that is held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry and fillies . The race is often called "The Run for the Roses" because of the blanket of roses draped over the winner. It is also known in the United States as "
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2013 Road to the Kentucky Derby


. If two or more horses have the same number of points, the tiebreaker to get into the race will be earnings in non-restricted stakes races, whether or not they are graded. In the event of a tie, those horses will divide equally the points they would have received jointly had one beaten the other. Horses listed as "also eligible" are not allowed to participate in the race once wagering is opened. The 2013 season consisted of 36 races, 19 races for the Kentucky Derby Prep Season and 17
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Road to the Kentucky Derby


The Road to the Kentucky Derby is a points system by which horses qualify for a position in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby. It features dozens of stakes races for 2 and 3-year-old Thoroughbreds – the number and specific races have changed slightly over the years. The point system replaced a previous qualifying system that looked at earnings from all graded stakes races worldwide. There are 20 positions available in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby. Starting in 2017, one of those spots is reserved for the winner of the
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Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes


The Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the last week of November at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. A Grade II event, the race is open to two-year-olds willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt, and is a Road to the Kentucky Derby race, offering points to the top four horses towards being one of the 18 horses eligible for the race by points in North American races (there are spots available to European and Asian horses which
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Thoroughbred racing


Derby winner Motivator, owned by the Royal Ascot Racing Club, 2003 Kentucky Derby winner Funny Cide, owned by a group of 10 partners organized as Sackatoga Stable. 2008 Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown, owned by IEAH stables, a horse racing hedgefund organization. Historically, most race horses were bred and raced by their owners. Beginning after World War II, the commercial breeding industry became significantly more important in North America, Europe and Australasia, with the result that a substantial portion of Thoroughbreds are now sold by their breeders,
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Maximum Security (horse)


. His first race was on December 20, 2018, which he won by lengths. In that race, he could have been claimed for $16,000, but was not claimed. From there, he won two starter optional claiming races at Gulfstream Park in early 2019 before being entered in the Florida Derby. Ultimately, he won the race by lengths and earned 100 points on the 2019 Road to the Kentucky Derby, instantly qualifying him for the Kentucky Derby. In the Kentucky Derby, Maximum Security set the pace of the
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2014 Kentucky Derby


offspring of a mare, Love the Chase, purchased for $8,000, and a stallion, Lucky Pulpit, that stood for a $2,000 stud fee. The horse is owned by "a couple of working stiff owners", Perry Martin and Steve Coburn, who spent what they could afford in the hopes of producing a great race horse. California Chrome trains at Los Alamitos Race Course in Orange County. His Derby win was his fifth straight win, a streak which began in December 2013. His margin of victory in
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Neil D. Drysdale


Labeeb, French Deputy, and Roanoke. Beyond his Grade 1 wins in the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, and Breeders'Cup, Drysdale has also won the Acorn Stakes, Apple Blossom, CCA Oaks, Hollywood Derby, Santa Anita Derby, and Molson Million Drysdale's owners now include Sheikh Maktoum and Peter Vegso As horse racing has gone international, so has Drysdale, racing horses in Dubai, Hong Kong and South Africa Inducted into Racing Hall of Fame in 2000, the year he won the Kentucky Derby with Fusaichi Pegasus, his
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Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States)


races are held on dirt tracks, rather than the turf commonly used for important races in Europe. At completion of the 2016 season, the three Triple Crown races have attracted 4,224 entrants. Of these, 292 horses have won a single leg of the Triple Crown, 52 horses have won two of the races (23 the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, 18 the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, and 11 the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes), and 13 horses have won all three races. Pillory won both the Preakness
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1919 Kentucky Derby


The 1919 Kentucky Derby was the 45th running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 10, 1919. Horses Corson and Clermont scratched before the race. Winner Sir Barton went on to win in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes, becoming the first winner of the American Triple Crown. A "New York Times" writer believed that the Preakness Stakes was competing for attention with the Derby, as it was held four days following the Derby and offered a purse of $30,000, larger than the Derby's $20,000
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Derby (horse race)


A derby ( , ) is a type of horse race named after the Derby Stakes run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in England. That was in turn named after Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby, who inaugurated the race in 1780. Perhaps the best-known example after the original is the Kentucky Derby in the United States. Traditionally, the term "derby" is used strictly to refer to races restricted to three-year-olds, as the English and U.S. Triple Crown races all are. The most
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Justify (horse)


length lead despite drifting somewhat down the stretch. The win moved Justify to the top position in the NTRA 3-year-old poll and made him the favorite for the Derby. To win the race though, he would have to overcome the so-called "Curse of Apollo" – no horse had won the Kentucky Derby without racing as a two-year-old since Apollo in 1882. Baffert pointed to the horse's natural ability but acknowledged the colt was still green. Furthermore, the field for the 2018 Kentucky Derby
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2018 Kentucky Derby


The 2018 Kentucky Derby (officially, the 2018 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve) was the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby, and took place on Saturday, May 5, 2018, in Louisville, Kentucky. The field was open to 20 horses, with a purse of million. The Derby is held annually in Louisville on the first Saturday in May, at the end of the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. It is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance
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2014 Kentucky Derby


Pablo del Monte chose not to run and he was also scratched from the race. Jockeys Jose Ortiz and Irad Ortiz Jr. became the first brothers to race in the Kentucky Derby since 1984. It was the first Derby for each of them. Rosie Napravnik was riding in her third Derby, hoping to become the first woman rider to win the race. Nineteen horses started, with 164,906 spectators gathered at Churchill Downs. It was the second-largest crowd in Kentucky Derby history. Uncle Sigh and Chitu set the early pace,
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2018 Preakness Stakes


in North America during 2018. Entries for the 2018 Preakness were taken on May 16. As is commonly the case with the Preakness, the field for the race featured the winner and other top horses from the Kentucky Derby, facing off with several "new shooters" – horses who either did not qualify for the Derby or whose connections chose to bypass that race to focus on the Preakness. The heavy favorite for the race was Justify, the 2018 Kentucky Derby winner, even though he bruised his heel during the running of
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2012 Preakness Stakes


Another became the 33rd horse to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes double. The 137th Preakness Payout Schedule The post draw was televised on the Horse Racing TeleVision network (HRTV) on May 17, 2012 at EDT. Both the winner of the 2012 Kentucky Derby, I'll Have Another and the second placed horse Bodemeister entered the race. Also back from the Derby were fourth-place finisher Went the Day Well and fifth-place finisher Creative Cause, as well as Daddy Nose Best, who placed tenth, and Optimizer
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History of Louisville, Kentucky


renamed as St. Joseph Orphanage. Louisville's famous Galt House hotel—the first of three downtown buildings to have that moniker—was erected in 1834. In 1839, a precursor to the modern Kentucky Derby was held at Old Louisville's Oakland Race Course. Over 10,000 spectators attended the two-horse race, in which "Grey Eagle" lost to "Wagner". This race occurred 36 years before the first Kentucky Derby. It was a popular competition to test the quality of horses. Louisville became a center for sales
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Louisiana Derby


The Louisiana Derby is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Run in late March, the race is open to horses, age three, willing to race miles (9 furlongs) on the dirt. It currently offers a purse of $1,000,000. The Louisiana Derby is one of the major prep races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. The first race at the "Louisiana Race Course," now the Fair Grounds Race Course took place on March
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Blue Swords (horse)


at Jamaica, New York in the feature race, Experimental handicap. He came in ahead of only four horses at a time when he was considered second to Count Fleet in the Kentucky Derby future books. Nevertheless, odds makers made Blue Swords a 6 to 1 pick to win the Kentucky Derby prior to the horse's arrival in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 17, 1943. Al Wolf of the Los Angeles Times gave him the edge provided there was mud on the race track. Blue Swords again failed to perform up
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Alysheba Stakes


The Alysheba Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky. The Alysheba became the most recent addition to the Derby Week stakes lineup as it joined the schedule in 2004 and is currently run on the undercard of the Kentucky Oaks, the day before the Kentucky Derby. It was the first stakes to join the Derby Week lineup since 1997. The event is named for the talented 1987 Kentucky Derby winner and United States Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Alysheba, who returned to the Downs
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Road to the Kentucky Derby


top finishers on the main Road to the Kentucky Derby. If one of those horses does not enter the Derby, their position is given to the next ranked horses on the list. Up to 24 horses may enter the race, with the bottom four point-earners listed as "also eligible". If any of the top 20 is scratched after entries are taken but before betting begins, the next ranked horse on the also eligible list will be eligible to run. If two or more horses have the same number of
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Travers Stakes


The Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Mid-Summer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds according to international classifications, behind only the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. First held in 1864, it was named for William R. Travers, the president of the old Saratoga Racing Association. His horse, Kentucky, won the first running of the Travers. The race was not
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2013 Belmont Stakes


was 47,562. The Belmont Stakes Payout Schedule Both the Kentucky Derby winner Orb and the Preakness Stakes winner Oxbow entered the race. This was the 21st time that the winner of the Kentucky Derby and the winner of the Preakness Stakes competed in the race. A total of fourteen horses entered the race, tying for the second-largest field for the third time in the race's history. Orb was the morning line favorite. Trainer Todd Pletcher entered a record 5 horses in the race, including the filly Unlimited Budget who was
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Road to the Kentucky Derby


points, the tiebreaker to get into the Kentucky Derby will be earnings in non-restricted stakes races, whether or not they are graded. In the event of a tie, those horses will divide equally the points they would have received jointly had one beaten the other. If an owner wants to run a filly in the Derby, she will have to earn points in the same races as the colts and geldings – points earned of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks are not transferable to the Derby. The "Road to
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Frances A. Genter


Frances A. Genter (February 17, 1898 – November 24, 1992) was a major figure in American Thoroughbred horse racing. She is best known as the owner of Unbridled, the 1990 American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse and winner of the 1990 Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic. Part of horse racing lore took place at the 1990 Kentucky Derby when trainer Carl Nafzger called the race aloud to the petite 92-year-old Mrs. Genter because her eyesight was failing & she could not see as her horse headed
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Funny Cide


Funny Cide (foaled April 20, 2000) is a Thoroughbred race horse who won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes in 2003. He is the first New York-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby and the first gelding to win since Clyde Van Dusen in 1929. He was an immensely popular horse and remains a fan favorite in retirement at the Kentucky Horse Park. Funny Cide was bred at WinStar Farm in Versailles, Kentucky, but was foaled at the McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbred Farm, owned by Joe and Anne
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Champagne Stakes (United States)


The Champagne Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old horses. The race is run at a distance of one mile on the dirt at Belmont Park in October each year. Although the race is open to both colts and fillies, in practice it is New York's premier race for two-year-old colts and fillies enter the Frizette Stakes instead. The race is a Road to the Kentucky Derby Prep Season qualifying race. The winner receives 10 points toward qualifying for the Kentucky Derby
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Apollo (horse)


Apollo (1879–1887) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the winner of the 1882 Kentucky Derby. He was the only horse to have won the Derby without racing at age two, until the 2018 Kentucky Derby, when Justify equalled the achievement. He then went on to race 21 times at age three, 30 times at age four and 4 times at age five, winning a total of 24 races. Apollo was bred by Daniel Swigert, who subsequently founded Elmendorf Farm. Apollo's dam was Rebecca T. Price,
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Kentucky Derby


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 then became the preeminent stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses in North America. Thoroughbred owners began sending their successful Derby horses to compete 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 large purses
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2018 Road to the Kentucky Derby


2018 would be used to break the tie. The series consists of seven races – four run on the turf in late 2017 when the horses are age two, plus three races run on a synthetic surface in early 2018. The following table shows the points earned in the eligible races for the European series. The top four horses (colored brown within the standings) were eligible for the invitation to participate in the Kentucky Derby, provided the horse was nominated. The connections of Gronkowski, who finished first with 50 points,
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Regret (horse)


Kentucky Derby, her first race as a three year old, and became the first filly of three to do so. Regret was also the first undefeated horse to win the Kentucky Derby, and had only three starts prior to the race (matched by Big Brown in 2008). Regret was retrospectively named American Horse of the Year. 1915 was the year of the Triple Crown fillies, as Rhine Maiden won the Preakness Stakes. Regret's owner had not entered her in that race. Not since 1915 has more than one
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Thoroughbred


2007, in Japan, there were 23,859 horses in training and those horses started 182,614 times for A$857,446,268 of prize money. In Britain, the British Racing Authority states there were 8,556 horses in training for flat racing for 2007, and those horses started 60,081 times in 5,659 races. Statistically, fewer than 50% of all race horses ever win a race, and less than 1% ever win a stakes race such as the Kentucky Derby or The Derby. Any horse who has yet to win a race is known as
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Thoroughbred


such as the major leg fractures that led to the euthanization of 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, or 2008 Kentucky Derby runner-up Eight Belles, animal rights groups have denounced the Thoroughbred racing industry. On the other hand, advocates of racing argue that without horse racing, far less funding and incentives would be available for medical and biomechanical research on horses. Although horse racing is hazardous, veterinary science has advanced. Previously hopeless cases can now be treated, and earlier detection through advanced imaging techniques like scintigraphy can keep at-
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Samuel S. Brown


the Kentucky Association horse racetrack in Lexington, For a number of years Brown's racehorses were trained by future Hall of Fame inductee John Rogers with whom he also raced horses in a partnership. Peter Wimmer succeeded Rogers as Samuel Brown's trainer and at the Brighton Beach Race Course on Coney Island, New York, jockey George Odom won the 1902 Brighton Derby with Brown's colt, Hyphen. On October 3, 1903 Peter Wimmer was succeeded by Robert Tucker who won the 1905 Kentucky Derby and the Tennessee Derby. Other important horses
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Lexington, Kentucky


This track also has the world's largest thoroughbred auction house; 19 Kentucky Derby winners, 21 Preakness Stakes winners, and 18 Belmont Stakes winners were purchased at Keeneland sales. Its most notable race is the Blue Grass Stakes, which is considered an important preparation for the Kentucky Derby. The Red Mile is the oldest horse racing track in the city and the second-oldest in the nation. It runs live harness races, in which horses pull two-wheeled carts called sulkies. The two tracks announced a partnership in 2014
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Bay Meadows Derby


The Bay Meadows Derby was an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses of either gender on the Longden Turf Course at Bay Meadows Racetrack. Bay Meadows was in San Mateo, California. The Bay Meadows Derby first ran in 1954 on the dirt. That year's winner of the Kentucky Derby won the first Bay Meadows Derby, the California-bred Determine. In 1957, Round Table (horse) won the race, the first of many as a three-year old. The Derby, revived in
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Pat Day Mile Stakes


The Pat Day Mile Stakes is an American Grade 3 Thoroughbred horse race held on Kentucky Derby day run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky for three-year-olds willing to race one mile on the dirt. The current purse is $250,000 for the event. Originally, the event was known as the Derby Trial Stakes and was held one week before the Kentucky Derby. It was first run in 1924 and every year since, with the exception of 1928. The race name was given similar to races in Britain which
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Kentucky Derby


Olympics and nearly all professional sports seasons were canceled). A horse must win all three races to win the Triple Crown. In the 2015 listing of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), the Kentucky Derby tied with the Whitney Handicap as the top Grade 1 race in the United States outside the Breeders' Cup races. The attendance at the Kentucky Derby ranks first in North America and usually surpasses the attendance of all other stakes races including the Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes, and the Breeders' Cup. In
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Kingman (horse)


Kingman (1888–1893) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse owned by Kinzea Stone of Georgetown, Kentucky and the winner of the 1891 Kentucky Derby, Phoenix Stakes and Latonia Derby. He holds the record for the slowest winning time ever recorded at a Kentucky Derby, at 2:52. Kingman was ridden in the Derby by Isaac Burns Murphy and was considered one of the best prospects for winning the 1891 American Derby. However, Kingman finished third in that race and won few races of importance thereafter. Kingman was bought by John E. Madden of
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Smarty Jones


years to win the Kentucky Derby in their debut appearance. Smarty Jones won the race by 2¾ lengths, earning $854,800 for the Chapmans along with a bonus of $5 million from Oaklawn Park for sweeping the Rebel Stakes, the Arkansas Derby, and the Kentucky Derby. He also joined Lil E. Tee (1992 Derby winner) as the only Pennsylvania-bred horses to ever win the Kentucky Derby. Smarty Jones' year, 2004, was the 100th anniversary of the Triple Crown races. On May 15, after appearing
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2018 Kentucky Derby


for qualifiers on the Japan Road was accepted. On the European Road, the connections of Gronkowski accepted after the colt qualified first. However, the colt subsequently became ill and had to miss the race. The early favorite was Justify, who had made only three starts before the race but won each time with triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures. In the Derby, he had to surmount what came to be known as "Curse of Apollo" – a reference to the fact that no horse had ever won the Derby without
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Girvin


this horse all along, but you never know how good they are until you stack them up against the competition... We're in shock." His final prep race was the $1,000,000 Louisiana Derby on April 1. There he won over a field of nine by lengths while on the outside for much of the race. With 150 points on the 2017 Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard, he became the top-ranked contender in the field. "It doesn't feel bad (to have a Kentucky Derby horse)
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Horse racing


point of US horse racing is the Kentucky Derby, held on the first Saturday of May at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Together, the Derby; the Preakness Stakes, held two weeks later at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland; and the Belmont Stakes, held three weeks after the Preakness at Belmont Park on Long Island, form the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing for three-year-olds. They are all held early in the year, throughout May and the beginning of June. In recent years the
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Iroquois Stakes (Churchill Downs)


The Iroquois Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race which is the first graded stakes race for Thoroughbred horses on opening day at the Churchill Downs Fall Meet. This first day every fall is devoted entirely to two-year-old racing. The race is a Road to the Kentucky Derby Prep Season qualifying race. The winner receives 10 points toward qualifying for the Kentucky Derby. Prior to 2013 the race was run over at one mile on the dirt track, and open to juveniles only. The Grade III Iroquois currently offers a
2277084
Steve Haskin


Steve Haskin (born 1947 in New York) is an American horse racing journalist and author. A former Wall Street employee, Haskin became interested in horse racing in 1967. He gained recognition for his annual coverage of the Kentucky Derby, first as National Correspondent for the Daily Racing Form and then as Senior Correspondent at "The Blood-Horse" until June 2015. Among his awards are the Walter Haight Award, Charles Englehard Award, and Old Hilltop Award, all for career excellence, six Red Smith Awards for Kentucky Derby
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1933 Kentucky Derby


The 1933 Kentucky Derby was the 59th running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 6, 1933. The first two finishers of the race were Brokers Tip, ridden by Don Meade, and Head Play, ridden by Herb Fisher. Head Play led early, but Brokers Tip went through an opening on the inside to pull even. As the horses ran side-by-side down the stretch, their jockeys grabbed and whipped each other, and the race became known as the "fighting finish."
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Group races


Group races, also known as Pattern races, or Graded races in some jurisdictions, are the highest level of races in Thoroughbred horse racing. They include most of the world's iconic races, such as, in Europe, The Derby, Irish Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, in Australia, the Melbourne Cup and in the United States, the Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup races. Victory in these races marks a horse as being particularly talented, if not exceptional, and they are extremely important in determining stud
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Halma (horse)


Halma (1892–1909) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1895 Kentucky Derby. He is best known for being the first Kentucky Derby winner to sire a Kentucky Derby winner. Halma was bred in Kentucky by Eastin & Larabie, a racing and breeding partnership created in 1886 between Montana banker and financier Samuel E. Larabie and Augustus Eastin, a wealthy Kentucky businessman. He was sired by Hanover, a three-time Leading sire in North America and a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee. Grandsire Hindoo, was a Champion runner
2074092
Khaled (horse)


. Brought to Ellsworth's farm in Chino, California, in 1947, Khaled raced in 1948 with limited success. After being retired to stud, he produced sixty-one stakes winners, with Swaps being the most successful. He won the 1955 Kentucky Derby, was voted American Horse of the Year in 1956, and in 1966 was inducted into the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame. As a stallion, Swaps notably sired the 1963 Kentucky Derby winner, Chateaugay and Hall of Fame inductee Affectionately. Some of the horses sired by
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Tampa Bay Derby


The Tampa Bay Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race held in mid-March at Tampa Bay Downs. A Grade II event since 2011, it is open to three-year-olds at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles ( furlongs) on the dirt. The race has gained in popularity over the past few years and is now listed as an official prep race for the Kentucky Derby. In 2007, Street Sense became the first Tampa Bay Derby participant to win the Kentucky Derby. In 2010, Super
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George Smith (horse)


The 1916 Kentucky Derby was run on a clear day with a field of 9 horses. George Smith was ridden by American Racing Hall of Fame jockey Johnny Loftus and was the clear contender of the race from the start. The only competition for the win came from Star Hawk, who lost the race by a neck after a rally in the home stretch. In 1918, George Smith won the Bowie Handicap at Pimlico Race Course by defeating two other Kentucky Derby winners. The 1917 winner, Omar Khayyam, finished second, and
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Always Dreaming


he responded. He did it himself from there." Always Dreaming became the first horse in 84 years (since Brokers Tip in 1933) to win the Derby having not won a race as a two-year-old; it was late January at age three when he won his first race. Pletcher and Velazquez had worked together many times, and this was the first Kentucky Derby they won together. Velazquez said, "This is the best horse Todd and I have ever come to the Kentucky Derby with. Being
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Ahmed Zayat


of Zayat horses finishing second in the Kentucky Derby and other classic races when he was defeated by Mine That Bird. In 2010, Zayat campaigned Eskendereya, winner of the Wood Memorial and considered the favorite for the Kentucky Derby. On the Sunday prior to the Derby, Eskendereya was withdrawn from the race and subsequently retired to stud due to a soft tissue injury that would have taken at least a year to heal. In 2011, Zayat entered Nehro, who finished second to Animal Kingdom. In 2012, Zayat Stables' horses
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Jimmy Winkfield


James Winkfield (April 12, 1882 - March 23, 1974) was a Thoroughbred jockey and horse trainer from Kentucky, best remembered as the last African American to ride a winner in the Kentucky Derby. Winkfield was born in Chilesburg, Kentucky and began his career as a jockey in 1898 at age sixteen. He was suspended for four years after just one race for his involvement in a four-horse accident at the starting gate. However, he returned in 1900 to ride a horse named Thrive in the Kentucky Derby,
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2017 Kentucky Derby


at Churchill Downs racetrack since its inception in 1875. The race was broadcast by NBC with a scheduled post time of 6:34 PM ET. The race went off at 6:52 PM ET before a crowd of 158,070 and a television TAD of 16.5 million viewers. The winner was the post-time favorite, Always Dreaming. The field for the Kentucky Derby was limited to twenty horses who qualified based on points earned in the Road to the Kentucky Derby, a series of races that was first introduced in 2013. Girvin was the top
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Kentucky


v. Board of Education" verdict, later adopting the first state civil rights act in the South in 1966. The biggest day in American horse racing, the Kentucky Derby, is preceded by the two-week Derby Festival in Louisville. The Derby Festival features many events, including Thunder Over Louisville, the Pegasus Parade, the Great Steamboat Race, Fest-a-Ville, the Chow Wagon, BalloonFest, BourbonVille, and many others leading up to the big race. Louisville also plays host to the Kentucky State Fair and
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Ten Most Wanted (horse)


the Kentucky Derby. However, he stumbled during the race and finished in ninth place at Churchill Downs (2003 race results). His owners decided to race him in the Belmont Stakes and he finished 2nd to Empire Maker. He then ran the Travers Stakes at Saratoga on August 23, 2003, and the Louisiana Downs Super Derby on September 20, 2003, both of which he won. His last race was at Hawthorne in what was the National Jockey Club Handicap (which has since be renamed Bill Hartack Memorial Handicap)
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Forward Pass (horse)


the Derby. When the horse's post-Derby urinalysis revealed the phenylbutazone, his owner and handlers believed someone else may have been motivated to give the colt another dose of the drug, and they filed an appeal of the disqualification. The Kentucky State Racing Commission examined the matter and ordered distribution of the purse with first money to Forward Pass. This decision was upheld in April 1972 by Kentucky's highest court in Kentucky State Racing Commission v. Fuller, 481 S.W.2d 298 (Ky, 1972). In a subsequent decision,
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2019 Preakness Stakes


was won by War of Will, who had finished seventh in the Kentucky Derby. The Maryland Jockey Club reported a total attendance of 131,256, the second highest attendance for American thoroughbred racing events in North America during 2019. The Preakness traditionally features the winner of the Kentucky Derby competing against other runners from that race as well as some "new shooters" – horses that either bypassed the Derby or did not qualify. However, Country House – the winner of the 2019 Kentucky Derby (by disqualification) – was withdrawn from consideration
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Buchanan (horse)


Buchanan (1881 – c.1898) was an American thoroughbred racehorse and was the winner of the 1884 Kentucky Derby, Ripple Stakes and Clark Stakes. Buchanan had not achieved a race win before competing in the Kentucky Derby and by contemporary accounts was a difficult and unruly mount. He was ridden in the 1884 derby by the great African-American jockey Isaac Burns Murphy, who won three Kentucky Derbys in his lifetime (1884, 1890, and 1891). Buchanan retired from racing at age three and lived the remainder of his days
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1891 Kentucky Derby


The 1891 Kentucky Derby was the 17th running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 13, 1891. The winning time of 2:52.25 was the slowest winning time in Derby history. With each rider under orders to stay off the lead until the stretch, all four horses ran abreast the whole way waiting for someone to make a move. This resulted in the field to canter their way around the track going a mile in 2:01, a mile and a quarter in 2:26 ¾ and finish the mile and half race
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Turf Paradise Derby


The Turf Paradise Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually between early and mid February at Turf Paradise Race Course in Phoenix, Arizona. The race is open to three-year-old horses and is competed over a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt. An ungraded stakes that is an official prep race for the Kentucky Derby, it currently offers a purse of $100,000. Inaugurated in 1986, the Turf Paradise Derby was run at a distance of one mile but the following year was modified
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Kentucky Derby Challenge Stakes


in May on the dirt track at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race offered a purse of US$150,000 of which $90,000 comes from Churchill Downs and $60,000 from Kempton. In addition, if the race winner exercised their right to run in the Kentucky Derby, they would receive a further $100,000 bonus payment plus would be given an automatic spot in the ensuing two legs of the U.S. Triple Crown series, the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. No European-based horse has ever won the Kentucky Derby. The
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Preakness Stakes


is the second leg in American thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown series and almost always attracts the Kentucky Derby winner, some of the other horses that ran in the Derby, and often a few horses that did not start in the Derby. The Preakness is miles, or furlongs (1.88km), compared to the Kentucky Derby, which is miles / 10 furlongs (2km). It is followed by the third leg, the Belmont Stakes, which is miles / 12 furlongs (2.4km). Since 1932,
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Mike E. Smith


Justify, who, after winning two races with the horse in California, won the 2018 Kentucky Derby. In doing so, the horse broke the 136-year-old "curse of Apollo" by winning the Kentucky Derby without having raced at 2 years of age. The last time this feat was accomplished was by Apollo in the 1882 race. Two weeks later, Justify and Smith won the 2018 Preakness Stakes and then, on June 9th, 2018, at the 150th Belmont Stakes, Justify, ridden by Smith, became the
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Tennessee Derby


The Tennessee Derby is a discontinued American Thoroughbred horse race that was run annually from 1884 to 1886 and then 1890–1906 at the Montgomery Park Race Track located on the Memphis Fairgrounds in Tennessee. The Tennessee Derby rivaled the Kentucky Derby at the time for prestige and purse money, but was not reinstated after a gambling ban took effect in 1907. Kentucky Derby winners Joe Cotton and Agile also won the Tennessee Derby. The final edition of the Tennesse Derby was run on April 24, 1906 and was won by Lady Navarre. Speed record
4798099
1780 Epsom Derby


The 1780 Epsom Derby was the inaugural running of The Derby – the horse race which would become the "greatest turf event in the world" and after which more than 140 other horse races, including the famous Kentucky Derby, are named. It took place on 4 May 1780 on Epsom Downs in Surrey, England, and was won by Diomed, owned by Sir Charles Bunbury and ridden by Sam Arnull. At the previous year's Epsom May race meeting, Lord Derby had instigated a 1 1/2 mile race for three-
21037838
Florida Derby


. When Barbaro won the 2006 Kentucky Derby, the five-week spacing began to be viewed as a potentially positive feature, allowing a horse to come into the Kentucky Derby well rested. In 1977, a large field resulted in the race being run in two divisions. Between 1926 and 1937, the Flamingo Stakes was known as the Florida Derby. In total, 20 winners of the Florida Derby have gone on to win one or more Triple Crown Classics (Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes). Kentucky
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Nyquist (horse)


Nyquist (foaled March 10, 2013) is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse, winner of the 2016 Kentucky Derby. He also won the 2015 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, becoming only the second horse to complete the Juvenile-Derby double. He became the eighth undefeated winner of the Kentucky Derby, and the first since Big Brown in 2008. He received the 2015 Eclipse Award for Champion Two-Year-Old. He is the second Kentucky Derby winner after Morvich to win the race while undefeated after winning Champion Two Year Old
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2016 Preakness Stakes


of eight new horses who did not contest the Derby were pointed at the Preakness. Awesome Speed, who won the Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel Park, earned an automatic entry to the Preakness. Other new contenders included Cherry Wine and Laoban, both Derby also-eligibles who were not able to start in the Kentucky race. Of the horses who had not been on the Kentucky Derby trail, Stradivari, a lightly-raced colt trained by Todd Pletcher, Collected, a Bob Baffert-trainee who won the Lexington Stakes,
16201403
Kentucky Oaks Trophy


The Kentucky Oaks Trophy is a ceremonial trophy which is presented annually to the winner of the Kentucky Oaks horse race. Since the Kentucky Oaks is run on the Friday preceding the Kentucky Derby, the trophy presentation occurs on Friday evening, the evening before the Derby (which is held on the first Saturday in May). The trophy presentation is ceremonial only, since the trophy remains in the custody of the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville, Kentucky. The presentation is usually carried in prime-time television. The Kentucky Oaks was
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2018 Kentucky Derby


age of two. The Kentucky Derby is only open to three-year-old Thoroughbreds, thus all entrants in the 2018 race were part of the 2015 North American live foal crop of roughly 22,000. The field was limited to twenty horses who qualified based on points earned in the 2018 Road to the Kentucky Derby, a series of designated races that was first introduced in 2013. This point system replaced the previous graded stakes race earnings system. The top points earner in the 2018 series was Magnum Moon (150 points)
5654475
Calvin Borel


Calvin H. Borel (born November 7, 1966) is an American jockey in thoroughbred horse racing and rode the victorious mount in the 2007 Kentucky Derby, the 2009 Kentucky Derby and the 2010 Kentucky Derby. His 2009 Derby win with Mine That Bird was the second biggest upset in Derby history, and Borel's winning margin of lengths was the greatest in Derby history since Assault won by 8 lengths in 1946. On May 1, 2009, Borel won the Kentucky Oaks aboard Rachel Alexandra, only the second time since 1993 that
9027540
Eddie "Rochester" Anderson


Thoroughbred that ran in the 1943 Kentucky Derby, making him the first African-American owner of a horse entered into the Derby. Having been given the following day off by Benny, Anderson and his wife, Mamie, traveled to Louisville, Kentucky to see their horse run in the Derby. Since segregation in public accommodations was practiced there, the Andersons were invited to be guests at the home of Mae Street Kidd, a noted female African-American Kentucky politician. Both before and after the race, Anderson was accused of
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Chateaugay (horse)


stakes race. At age three, the colt began to develop and after winning the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland Race Course was sent to compete in America's most prestigious race, the Kentucky Derby. The 1963 edition of the Kentucky Derby, the first leg of the Triple Crown series, saw 120,000 patrons gather at Churchill Downs for a race that featured three Thoroughbred stars. "TIME" magazine reported jockey Eddie Arcaro as saying: "I can't remember a Derby creating so much excitement." Leading up to the race
7299203
Epsom Derby


. The race serves as the middle leg of the Triple Crown, preceded by the 2000 Guineas and followed by the St Leger. Owners rarely try to have their horses win all three races any more, as it is hard on the horses. The name "Derby" has become synonymous with great races all over the world, and as such has been borrowed many times, notably by the Kentucky Derby in the United States. The Derby run at Epsom is the original and in Great Britain is invariably referred to as "
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