The Kentucky Derby Part 2 - The Horses

The current Kentucky Derby field consists of twenty horses, all three years of age. They get in based on their graded stakes race earnings. The top contender this year, Uncle Mo, has already earned his owners 1.3 million.

Fillies are welcome to run, thirty-nine have started, although the ladies have only beat the boys three times in Derby history: Regret (1915), Genuine Risk (1980) and Winning Colors (1988).

Secretariat and his jockey Ron Turcotte

The Derby has produced several superstars, spawning books and movies about their lives. Probably the most famous of these is Secretariat. He was the first to break the two minute mark in the Derby and still holds the fastest finish time ever, clocked at 1:59.40.  ESPN listed Secretariat 35th on the list of the 100 greatest athletes of the 20th century.

Eleven Derby winners have gone on to win the Triple Crown, a series of three races consisting of the Kentucky Derby (Louisville, Kentucky), The Preakness (Baltimore, Maryland), and The Belmont (Elmont, New York).

Triple Crown Winners:
1919  Sir Barton
1930  Gallant Fox 
1935  Omaha
1937  War Admiral
1941  Whirlaway
1943  Count Fleet
1946  Assault
1948  Citation
1973  Secretariat
1977  Seattle Slew 
1978  Affirmed

Why so few? Well, the races are run close together and they get progressively longer. The Derby is 1¹⁄₄  miles,  then in two weeks comes the Preakness at 1³⁄₁₆ miles, and the Belmont finishes the trifecta just three weeks later at a distance of 1¹⁄₂ miles. 

Next week I'll tell you about the traditions surrounding the Derby including sights, sounds and tastes. We'll make fun of some of those crazy hats too.

I'll be doing a special post featuring my Kentucky Derby Contest Of Awesome on Saturday because I want to give you a whole week to enter. You won't want to miss it.