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Sunday 5 October 2014

The Derby (Kentucky)

The Kentucky Derby is held at Churchill Downs, Louisville and is 1¼ miles. It was named after "the blue ribbon of the [English] turf."

The first Kentucky Derby was run at Churchill Downs in 1875 with Aristides as winner. The attendance was just under 10,000.

In 1892 the 15-year-old African-American jockey Alonzo "Lonnie" Clayton became the youngest rider to ever win the Kentucky Derby.

The Kentucky Derby was televised nationally for the first time, on the CBS network on May 3, 1952.

Courtesy: Kentuckytourism.com

In 1969, Diane Crump became the first woman to ride in the Kentucky Derby.

Secretariat's performance when winning the 1973 Kentucky Derby is considered one of the greatest in horse racing history. He broke the previous record by 2.0 seconds, and his time of 1 minute 59.2 seconds still stands today. He was also the first horse to win the Derby by more than two lengths since 1948. Secretariat's victory was a major moment in American sports, and it helped to revive interest in horse racing. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest racehorses of all time.


The racehorse Sham ran the 1973 Kentucky Derby in under two minutes at 1:59.90. A time good enough to win any Kentucky Derby past or present… except the one he was in. He lost to the legendary Secretariat by about 2 ½ lengths.

Bill Shoemaker rode in the Kentucky Derby more times than any other jockey, 26 in all from 1952 to 1988 and won four times.

In 1986, at the age of 54, Bill Shoemaker became the oldest jockey to win the Kentucky Derby when he rode Ferdinand to victory.

The mint julep, concocted by Kentucky Senator William Clay in the 1800s, is the official cocktail of the Kentucky Derby.

The largest margin of victory in Kentucky Derby history was eight lengths, shared by four winners: Old Rosebud (1914), Johnstown (1939), Whirlaway (1941) and Assault (1946).

The Kentucky Derby is known as the Run for the Roses as the winning horse is draped in 554 blooms.

The Kentucky Derby trophy is 22 inches tall, including its jade base. It weighs 3.5 pounds (56 ounces).


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