The Kentucky Derby has run at Churchill Downs every year since 1875. This year's race, on May 5th, is the 133rd running of the event.
From 1875 until 1895, the Kentucky Derby was run at 1 1/2 miles. In 1896, it was shortened to 1 1/4 miles (10 furlongs).
The Kentucky Derby is known as "the most exciting two minutes in sports". While many horses have come close to the two-minute mark, only two have broken it-Secretariat in 1973 (1:59.40) and Monarchos in 2001 (1:59.97).
The Kentucky Derby is called the "Run for the Roses" because of the garland of 554 red roses draped over the winner.
The Kentucky Derby typically draws around 155,000 fans. In 1974, when the Kentucky Derby was run for the 100th time, a record crowd of 163,628 fans showed up.
The 2004 Kentucky Derby marked the first time that jockeys could display corporate advertising logos on their clothing.
Approximately 120,000 mint juleps are served over the two-day period of the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby. Not surprising, considering that it's been the traditional drink of the Kentucky Derby for nearly a century.
The fewest starters in the Kentucky Derby is 3 (in 1892 and 1905) while the most is 23 (in 1974, which marked the 100th running of the Kentucky Derby). The average is 12.64.
There has been an odds-on favorite in 32 runnings of the Kentucky Derby-17 of them won and 11 came second. Of the 11 Triple Crown winners, 3 were odds-on favorites in the Kentucky Derby.
The smallest win price in Kentucky Derby history is $2.80 on a $2 wager (paid by Citation in 1948 and Count Fleet in 1943); the largest is $184.90 (paid by Donerail in 1913).
Since 1900, the Kentucky Derby post positions with the most wins are 1 and 5 (12 wins each) and the second most wins are 4 and 10 (10 wins each).
Since 1900, the Kentucky Derby post positions with the fewest wins are 17 and 19 (0 wins each) and the second fewest wins are 18 and 20 (1 win each). No horse has won from gate 20 since 1929.
The most common color of the winning horse at the Kentucky Derby is bay (47 winners), followed closely by chestnut (43 winners). Winning Colors is the only roan to have won the race (in 1988).
Of the 38 fillies that have entered the Kentucky Derby, only three have won-Winning Colors (1988), Genuine Risk (1980) and Regret (1915).
A total of 12 Kentucky Derby champions have sired winners of the race. Bold Venture, the 1936 winner, sired two winners-Assault (1946) and Middleground (1950).
In 2005, the purse distribution for the Kentucky Derby was changed so that horses finishing fifth would receive a share of the $2 million purse. Previously, only the first four finishers got a share.
Off-track conditions have been listed in 34 runnings of the Kentucky Derby. Although some horses aren't affected by mud, it's not surprising that the slowest winning time (at the current distance) was recorded when the track was heavy.
Of the 132 winners of the Kentucky Derby, 99 were bred in Kentucky. Only four were bred outside of the United States.
The most popular first initial for winning Kentucky Derby runners is S (17 wins), the second most popular is B (12 wins) and the least popular are Q, X, and Y (0 wins each).
Since Sunny's Halo won the Kentucky Derby in 1983, no horse has won without running at least three prep races first.
No Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner has ever gone on to win the Kentucky Derby.
In 1919, Sir Barton became the first horse to win the Triple Crown (however, the term "Triple Crown" didn't come into use until 1930).
Since 1978, when Affirmed won the Triple Crown, seven horses have won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes but haven't been able to add the Belmont Stakes.
Since 1875 only 11 horses have won the elusive Triple Crown, while 42 have won two of the three races.
Since 1875 there have been eight years when it wasn't possible to have a Triple Crown winner-either two of the three races were held on the same day or the races were canceled for various reasons.
Gallant Fox has been the only Triple Crown winner (1930) to sire another Triple Crown winner (Omaha, who won in 1935).
Only two trainers have trained more than one Triple Crown winner: James Fitzsimmons, who trained Gallant Fox (1930) and Omaha (1935); and Ben A. Jones, who trained Whirlaway (1941) and Citation (1948).
Eddie Arcaro is the only jockey to have ridden more than one Triple Crown winner. He rode to victory on Whirlaway in 1941 and Citation in 1948.
No filly has ever won the Triple Crown. In 1980 Genuine Risk set the best record ever for a filly, winning the Kentucky Derby and running second in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.
Winning Colors (1988) and Genuine Risk (1980) are the only fillies to have run in all three Triple Crown races.
Do numbers mean anything to you? In 2006, all three Triple Crown races were won by the #8 horse.
Only two Triple Crown winners-War Admiral (1937) and Count Fleet (1943)-went undefeated during their three-year-old seasons.
In 1915, Regret won the Kentucky Derby and Rhine Maiden captured the Preakness Stakes-the only time that two different fillies have won the Derby and the Preakness in the same year.
Of the 11 horses that won the Triple Crown, 6 were chestnut.
Todd Pletcher leads all trainers with 32 horses nominated to this year's Triple Crown races.
On June 5, 1993, thoroughbred racing's all-time leading female jockey, Julie Krone, became the first woman to win one of the Triple Crown races when she rode to victory in the Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair.
In 1978, Affirmed won the Belmont Stakes-and the Triple Crown-by only a neck. His fierce rival, Alydar, became known as the only horse to finish second in all three races.
The $750,000 Wood Memorial Stakes, run at Aqueduct each April since 1925, is a major prep race for the Kentucky Derby. Eleven winners have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby, and four of those captured the Triple Crown.
Six Hollywood Futurity winners have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby, including Real Quiet, who came within a nose of winning the 1998 Triple Crown.
