The Kentucky Derby

In conjunction with your upcoming field trip to the Kentucky Derby Museum the following background information is provided so that you may have an understanding of several aspects of the Kentucky Derby. We encourage you to discuss this information with your students.

What is the Kentucky Derby?
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred colts and fillies, held on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs in Louisville. It has been run every year since it was begun on May 17, 1875. The Kentucky Derby was modeled after the Epsom Derby (pronounced “darby”), a prominent race in England.

Meriwether Lewis Clark, grandson of the famous explorer William Clark, headed the group that built the Louisville Jockey Club and began the Derby. The name Churchill Downs was not used until 1883. The original name was the Louisville Jockey Club. In 1895 the construction of a new grandstand brought what would become Churchill Downs’ most famous landmark, the Twin Spires. Originally a mile and a half race, the Kentucky Derby has been run at one mile and a quarter since being shortened in 1896.

 

How are horses entered in the Kentucky Derby?
Owners must nominate their horses to be eligible for the Derby by paying a nomination fee of $600 per horse during the early period (usually through late January), $6000 during the late period (usually through late March) or a “last minute” supplemental fee of $200,000. Trainers prepare the horses for the Kentucky Derby by running them in various races around the country during the late winter and spring. These races are referred to as “prep” races. It is normally the colts and fillies that do well in these races that come to Kentucky for the first Saturday in May.

The entry fee for the Kentucky Derby is $25,000, and there is another $25,000 fee if the horse enters the starting gate. Since the mid-1970s, no more than twenty Thoroughbreds may run in the Derby. If necessary, monies won in previous graded stakes races are used as a guide to limit the field. Churchill Downs currently guarantees a purse of $2,000,000, with the winner receiving at least $1,240,000. The owner also receives the gold Derby Trophy, currently valued at about $95,000, which is the only gold trophy presented in major American sports.

 

What are the Kentucky Derby records?

• The fastest Kentucky Derby was run by Secretariat in 1973 (1:59 2/5).
• The slowest Derby was run by Kingman in 1891 (2:52 1/4 for the mile and a half).
• There have been only three fillies to win the Kentucky Derby: Regret in 1915, Genuine Risk in 1980 and Winning Colors in 1988.
• Eleven Derby winners went on to win the Preakness Stakes in Maryland and the Belmont Stakes in New York, capturing the Triple Crown.
• The last Triple Crown winner was Affirmed in 1978.
• The largest crowd to ever assemble on Derby Day was in 2011, when 164,858 jammed Churchill Downs to watch the 137th running.

 

What are the well-known Kentucky Derby traditions?
There are many great Kentucky Derby traditions that have developed over the years. The most famous include the singing of My Old Kentucky Home as the horses come onto the track before the race, the wearing of Derby hats that range from very elegant to very silly, the Garland of Roses that is placed on the winner’s back immediately after the race in the Winner’s Circle and the gold Derby Trophy.

The Kentucky Derby has given rise to the Kentucky Derby Festival, a two-week community celebration, as well as countless parties and family gatherings held around Louisville and by relocated or “adopted” Kentuckians around the world. Famous Derby nicknames include “the Run for the Roses” which refers to the Garland of Roses, “the Chance of a Lifetime” because a horse can only run in the Derby one time and “the Greatest Two Minutes in Sports” because it takes on average just over two minutes to run the Derby.

 

What are recent developments at Churchill Downs?
Today Churchill Downs is a publicly held company led by CEO Robert Evens and President Steve Sexton. In the early 1980s a turf (grass) track was built to attract the Breeders’ Cup championship races. Churchill Downs has hosted this world-class event five times. In 1985, the Kentucky Derby Museum, a separate non-profit foundation, opened to help expand the awareness, the appreciation and the understanding of the Kentucky Derby and Thoroughbred racing.

In Spring 2000 the Museum underwent a major renovation and expansion project in conjunction with the new Churchill Downs Gate One and the Central Avenue expansion project. The racetrack completed a major $121 million renovation project in Spring 2005. Churchill Downs currently conducts live racing during the months of May, June and November, and training March through December. The Kentucky Derby Museum is open every day, except for Oaks and Derby Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

 

The Education Department at the Kentucky Derby Museum welcomes any opportunities to assist teachers and students. If you need any additional information about the science, history, culture or economic impact of the Kentucky Derby and Thoroughbred racing, please call us at 637-1111.