[Nfbf-l] Kentucky Derby 1st Saturday In May each year!

[Alan Dicey]

Kentucky Derby
>From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Location Churchill Downs
Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Inaugurated 1875
Race type Thoroughbred
Website http://www.kentuckyderby.com/
Race information
Distance 1¼ miles (10 furlongs)
Track Dirt, Left-handed
Qualification 3-year-old
Weight carried Colt/Gelding: 126 lbs (57.2 kg)
Filly: 121 lb (55 kg)
Purse US$2 million
1st: $1,425,000
The 2013 Kentucky Derby is set to be held on Saturday, May 4 at Churchill
Downs.
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old
Thoroughbreds, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, on the
first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival.
The race is one and a quarter miles (2 km) at Churchill Downs. Colts and
geldings carry 126 pounds (57 kilograms) and fillies 121 pounds (55
kilograms.
The race is known in the United States as "The Most Exciting Two Minutes In
Sports" or "The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports" for its approximate duration,
and is also called "The Run for the Roses" for the blanket of roses draped
over the winner. It is the first leg of the US Triple Crown and is followed
by the Preakness Stakes, then the Belmont Stakes. Unlike the Preakness and
Belmont Stakes, which took hiatuses in 1891-1893 and 1911-1912 respectively,
the Kentucky Derby has been run every consecutive year since 1875. A horse
must win all three races to win the Triple Crown. 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.
1. History
2. Traditions
3. Records
4. Winners
History
In 1882, Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr., grandson of William Clark
(explorer) of the Lewis and Clark expedition, traveled to England, visiting
the Derby, a famous race that had been running annually since 1780. From
there, Clark went on to Paris, France, where in 1863, a group of racing
enthusiasts had formed the French Jockey Club and had organized the
Longchamps, which at the time was the greatest race in France.
Note of Interest: A thoroughbred horse is depicted on the reverse of the
Kentucky state quarter
Returning home to Kentucky, Clark organized the Louisville Jockey Club for
the purpose of raising money to build quality racing facilities just outside
of the city. The track would soon become known as Churchill Downs, named for
John and Henry Churchill, who provided the land for the racetrack.
Officially, the racetrack was incorporated as Churchill Downs in 1937.
The Kentucky Derby was first run at 1+1 miles (2.4 kilometres), the same
distance as the Epsom Derby. In 1896, the distance was changed to its
current 1+1?4 miles (2.0 kilometres). On May 17, 1875, in front of an
estimated crowd of 10,000 people, a field of 15 three-year-old horses
contested the rainbow first Derby. Under jockey Oliver Lewis, a colt named
Aristides, who was trained by future Hall of Famer Ansel Williamson, won the
inaugural Derby. Later that year, Lewis rode Aristides to a second-place
finish in the Belmont Stakes.
Although the first race meet proved a success, the track ran into financial
difficulties and in 1894 the New Louisville Jockey Club was incorporated
with new capitalization and 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.
Between 1875 and 1902, African-American jockeys won 15 of the 28 runnings of
the Kentucky Derby. On May 11, 1892, African-American jockey Alonzo "Lonnie"
Clayton, age 15, became the youngest rider to win the Derby. The 1904 race
was won by Elwood, the first Derby starter and winner owned by a woman,
Laska Durnell. In 1915, Regret became the first filly to win the Kentucky
Derby (of only three in the history of the race), and in 1917, the
English-bred colt "Omar Khayyam" became the first foreign-bred horse to win
the race.
Derby participants are limited to three-year-old horses. No horse since
Apollo in 1882 has won the Derby without having raced at age two.
Thoroughbred owners began sending their successful Derby horses to compete a
few weeks 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 the largest purse and in 1919 Sir Barton became the
first horse to win all three races. However, the term Triple Crown didn't
come into use for another eleven years. In 1930, when Gallant Fox became the
second horse to win all three races, sportswriter Charles Hatton brought the
phrase into American usage. Fueled by the media, public interest in the
possibility of a "superhorse" that could win the Triple Crown began in the
weeks leading up to the derby. Two years after the term was coined, the
race, which had been run in mid-May since inception, was changed to the
first Saturday in May to allow for a specific schedule for the Triple Crown
races. Since 1931, the order of Triple Crown races has been the Kentucky
Derby first, followed by the Preakness Stakes and then the Belmont Stakes.
Prior to 1931, eleven times the Preakness was run before the Derby. On May
12, 1917 and again on May 13, 1922, the Preakness and the Derby were run on
the same day. On eleven occasions the Belmont Stakes was run before the
Preakness Stakes.

On May 16, 1925, the first live radio broadcast of the Kentucky Derby was
originated by WHAS and was also carried by WGN in Chicago.
On May 3, 1952, the first national television coverage of the Kentucky Derby
took place, aired from then-CBS affiliate WHAS-TV.
In 1954, the purse exceeded $100,000 for the first time. In 1968 Dancer's
Image became the first (and to this day the only) horse to win the race and
then be disqualified after traces of phenylbutazone, an analgesic and
anti-inflammatory drug, were found in the horse's urinalysis; Forward Pass
won after a protracted legal battle by the owners of Dancer's Image (which
they lost). Forward Pass thus became the Eighth winner for Calumet Farm.
Unexpectedly, the regulations at Kentucky thoroughbred race tracks were
changed some years later, allowing horses to run on phenylbutazone. In 1970
Diane Crump became the first female jockey to ride in the Derby, finishing
15th aboard Fathom.
The fastest time ever run in the Derby (at its present distance) was set in
1973 at 1 minute 59 2/5 seconds when Secretariat broke the record set by
Northern Dancer in 1964. Not only has Secretariat's record time stood for 39
years and counting, but in the race itself, he did something unique in
Triple Crown races: each successive quarter, his times were faster. Though
times for non-winners were not recorded, in 1973 Sham finished second, two
and a half lengths behind Secretariat in the same race. Using the
thoroughbred racing convention of one length equaling one-fifth of a second
to calculate Sham's time, he also finished in under two minutes. Another
sub-two-minute finish, only the third, was set in 2001 by Monarchos at
1:59.97.[6]
The 2004 Derby marked the first time that jockeys, as a result of a court
order, were allowed to wear corporate advertising logos on their clothing.
In 2005, the purse distribution for the Derby was changed, so that horses
finishing fifth would henceforth receive a share of the purse; previously
only the first four finishers did so.
Norman Adams has been the designer of the Kentucky Derby Logo since 2002. On
February 1, 2006, the Louisville-based fast-food company Yum! Brands, Inc.
announced a corporate sponsorship deal to call the race "The Kentucky Derby
presented by Yum! Brands."
In 2007, HM Queen Elizabeth II, on a visit to the United States, joined the
racegoers at Churchill Downs.
In 2010 Calvin Borel set a new record, being the first jockey to win 3 out
of 4 consecutive Kentucky Derbys.
Traditions
In addition to the race itself, a number of traditions play a large role in
the Derby atmosphere. The mint julep, an iced drink consisting of bourbon,
mint and a sugar syrup, is the traditional beverage of the race. The
historic drink can be served in an ice-frosted silver julep cup, but most
Churchill Downs patrons sip theirs from souvenir glasses (first offered in
1939 and available in revised form each year since) printed with all
previous Derby winners. Also, burgoo, a thick stew of beef, chicken, pork
and vegetables, is a popular Kentucky dish served at the Derby.
The infield, a spectator area inside the track, offers general admission
prices but little chance of seeing much of the race. Instead, revelers show
up in the infield to party with abandon. By contrast, "Millionaire's Row"
refers to the expensive box seats that attract the rich, the famous and the
well-connected. Women appear in fine outfits lavishly accessorized with
large, elaborate hats. As the horses are paraded before the grandstands, the
University of Louisville Marching Band plays Stephen Foster's "My Old
Kentucky Home," a tradition which began in 1921.
The Derby is frequently referred to as "The Run for the Roses," because a
lush blanket of 564 red roses is awarded to the Kentucky Derby winner each
year. The tradition originated in 1883 when New York socialite E. Berry Wall
presented roses to ladies at a post-Derby party that was attended by
Churchill Downs founder and president, Colonel M. Lewis Clark. This gesture
is believed to have led Clark to the idea of making the rose the race's
official flower. However, it was not until 1896 that any recorded account
referred to roses being draped on the Derby winner. The Governor of Kentucky
awards the garland and the trophy. Pop vocalist Dan Fogelberg composed the
song "Run for the Roses" which was released in time for the 1982 running of
the race.
Records
Most wins by a jockey * 5 - Eddie Arcaro (1938, 1941, 1945, 1948, 1952)
* 5 - Bill Hartack (1957, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1969)
Most wins by a trainer * 6 - Ben A. Jones (1938, 1941, 1944, 1948, 1949,
1952)
Most wins by an owner * 8 - Calumet Farm (1941, 1944, 1948, 1949, 1952,
1957, 1958, 1968)
Stakes record * 1:59.4 - Secretariat (1973)
Longest length to win a race * 8 lengths - Assault (1946)
* 8 lengths - Whirlaway (1941)
Longest shot to win the Derby
* 91 to 1 - Donerail (1913)
Winners
Year Winner  Jockey Trainer Owner Time Grade
2012 I'll Have Another Mario Gutierrez Doug O'Neill J. Paul Reddam 2:01.83 I
2011 Animal Kingdom John Velazquez H. Graham Motion Team Valor 2:02.04 I
2010 Super Saver Calvin Borel Todd Pletcher WinStar Farm 2:04.45 I
2009 Mine That Bird Calvin Borel Bennie L. Woolley Double Eagle Ranch
2:02.66 I
2008 Big Brown Kent Desormeaux Richard Dutrow IEAH Stables Pompa 2:01.82 I
2007 Street Sense Calvin Borel Carl Nafzger James B. Tafel 2:02.17 I

*In 1968, Dancer's Image, ridden by Bobby Ussery, trained by Lou Cavalaris,
Jr., and owned by Peter Fuller, finished first, but was disqualified after a
post-race urine sample revealed traces of a banned drug in the horse. The
drug in question - phenylbutazone - is now legal for use on racehorses in
many states, including Kentucky.
(For a complete list of winners going back to 1875, go to  Wickipedia)