Each year 20 horses have the once in a lifetime chance to run in the Kentucky Derby. The 20 horses with the most points will earn a spot in the starting gate on the first Saturday in May.
Churchill Downs postponed the opening leg of the Triple Crown from May 2 to Sept. 5, due to concern over the coronavirus pandemic that has wreaked havoc with the world's sports calendar. “At no point did we ever consider canceling the Kentucky Derby,” said Bill Carstanjen, CEO of Churchill Downs Inc.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 146th Kentucky Derby was rescheduled from May 2, 2020 to September 5, 2020.
Kentucky Derby Winners
| Year | Winner | Trainer |
|---|
| 2017 | Always Dreaming | Todd Pletcher |
| 2016 | Nyquist | Doug F. O'Neill |
| 2015 | American Pharoah * | Bob Baffert |
| 2014 | California Chrome | Art Sherman |
The 20 horses racing in the Kentucky Derby must first travel along the Road to the Kentucky Derby, which is a series of 35 races taking place at tracks across the country and the world.
Each year 20 horses have the once in a lifetime chance to run in the Kentucky Derby. To earn a spot in the starting gate, they must travel along the Road to the Kentucky Derby, a series of designated races at tracks across the country and around the world. Points are awarded to the top four finishers in each race.
Secretariat set records that are still standing today.
Accelerating with each quarter-mile segment, he crossed the finish line at 1:59 2/5th, a new (and still standing) course record. In the 40 years since, only one other horse, Monarchos, has finished in under 2 minutes.The Kentucky Oaks vs.
The Oaks is a gender-specific race, allowing only 3-year-old female horses, or fillies, to qualify and compete. The Derby, however, is open to eligible colts, geldings or fillies. While non-male horses are able to compete in the Kentucky Derby race, it's an oddity in the sport.Get to Know All 13 U.S. Triple Crown Winners
- Sir Barton (1919 Triple Crown winner)
- Gallant Fox (1930)
- Omaha (1935)
- War Admiral (1937)
- Count Fleet (1943)
- Assault (1946)
- Citation (1948)
- Secretariat (1973)
Male horses -- known as stallions, geldings or colts depending on whether their manhood is still intact -- far outnumber females -- called fillies -- on the track. In British flat racing, 63% of horses are male, while 37% are female.
Since 1931, the order of Triple Crown races has been the Kentucky Derby first, followed by the Preakness Stakes and then the Belmont Stakes.
Horses will be in the Paddock 20 minutes prior to each race, for each of the 14 Races. See the Post Times schedule for details. 1:00p.
Napravnik's fifth-place finish in the 2013 Kentucky Derby and third in the 2013 Preakness Stakes on Mylute are the best finishes for a woman jockey in those two Triple Crown races to date, and she is the only woman to have ridden in all three Triple Crown races.
Secretariat was sold to a breeding syndicate for a then-record $6.08 million.
Nineteen Kentucky Derby winners are still alive.
Revisiting Seabiscuit for the Kentucky Derby. Even when an injury seemed to ruin the horse's career, Seabiscuit came back to the track, won a legendary race and cemented his hero status.
The three races in the Triple Crown are the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes.
Female jockeys have raced alongside men in the Kentucky Derby for decades. The first female to ride a horse in the derby was Diane Crump in 1970. Since then, there have been a total of six women who rode in the Kentucky Derby: Diane Crump, Patti Cooksey, Andrea Seefeldt, Julie Krone, Rosemary Homeister Jr.
Jockeys are paid on a per mount (race) basis. Those are the fees jockeys receive if they do not finish first, second or third. The jockey of the winning horse receives an amount equal to 10% of the winning owner' s share of the total purse. (The winning owner in most states receives 60% of the total purse.)
The winning horse's owner takes home 62%, or $1.86 million. The winning jockey gets 10% of that, or $186,000. That number will get shaved down even more, by about 30%, since he must pay his agent and and his valet, who gets the jockey's gear in place.
First-floor box seats cost $540 per ticket, including both Kentucky Derby and Oaks days. The higher up you go, the more the price increases. Depending on your budget, there are dozens of options for purchasing ticket packages for Derby 2020.
Code of Honor paid $15.20 and $9.80, while Tacitus paid $5.60 to show. The $2 exacta paid a robust $3,009.60, while the $1 trifecta paid $11,475.30. The top four horses paid $51,400.10 for the $1 superfecta.
Though there is no height limit for jockeys, they are usually fairly short due to the weight limits. Jockeys typically stand around 4 ft 10 in (147 cm) to 5 ft 6 in (168 cm).
Triple Crown-winning jockey Mike Smith gets 2019 Kentucky Derby mount on Cutting Humor. Mike Smith is going to ride in Saturday's Kentucky Derby after all. Churchill Downs announced Friday morning that Smith will ride Sunland Derby winner Cutting Humor in the Derby.
Country House (horse)
| Country House |
|---|
| Breeder | J. V. Shields, Jr. |
| Owner | Shields, Jr., Mrs. J. V., McFadden, Jr., E. J. M. and LNJ Foxwoods |
| Trainer | Bill Mott |
| Record | 7: 2–2–1 |
Maximum Security's trainer Jason Servis said his speedy colt might have been spooked by cheers from the infield. After two different jockeys claimed foul, a three-judge panel of stewards unanimously ruled that Maximum Security's erratic action was severe enough to warrant a disqualification.
