Kentucky Derby Essay, Research Paper

The History of The Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is the most famous and prestigous horse race in the world. It is the

first leg of the United States Triple Crown of horse racing. The race became the most famous

horse race shortly after it started in 1875. The Kentucky Derby is said to be “The most exciting

two minutes in sports.” Besides the race itself, there are many Derby activities in the previous

two weeks, known as the Kentucky Derby Festival. The month of May and the Kentucky Derby

is one of my favorite times of the year.

Churchill Downs was started by a group headed by a man named M. Lewis Clark in

1874. The group built the track on land owned by the Churchill family of Louisville, Kentucky.

The track officially opened on May 17, 1875 and that was the day of the first Kentucky Derby

won by Aristides. The first races from 1875-1895 were modeled after the English Derby and

were 1 and a half miles long. In 1896 they changed the length of the Kentucky Derby which

would prove to be a good decision because from there on it became the most popular race in the

world.

The Kentucky Derby is the first leg of the United States Triple Crown of horse racing. It

is held annually on the first Saturday of May on the world famous Churchill Downs track in

Louisville, Kentucky. The race itself is run on a 1 and one-fourth mile dirt track. The race is for

the best 3-year-old horses in the world. Most of the recorded times for the race are just over 2

minutes. Only one horse, Secretariat, in 1973 has run the Derby in under 2 minutes. The

Kentucky Derby usually has attendences of over 120,000 fans, but millions of viewers watch at

home on television.

The Triple Crown is the biggest three races in the world. Only eleven Kentucky Derby

winners have went on to win the next races, the Preakness and the Belmont Steaks. Some of the

most notable Triple Crown winners are Sir Barton in 1919, the first Triple Crown winner, War

Admiral in 1937, Whirlaway in 1941, Citation in 1948, Secretariat in 1973, Seatlle Slew in 1977,

and Affirmed in 1978. These Triple Crown winners are some of the most famous horses in the

history of the sport of horse racing.

The fastest Kentucky Derby time was run by Secretariat in 1973, who finished in 1

minute and 59.4 seconds. The slowest Derby winner ever was Kingman in 1891, who ran the

Derby in 2 minutes and 52.25 seconds, when the race was still 1 and a half mile. The biggest

longshot to win the Derby and the highest paid winner of the Derby was Donnerail in 1913, who

paid $184.20 at 91-1 odds. There have been 36 fillies, or female horse who have run in the

derby, and 3 of them have won. Fourty-eight favorite horse have won the Derby in 126 runnings,

the last favorite to win was this years winner, Fusaichi Pegases. The largest purse for any

winning horse was in 1987 when Alysheba won $618,600 for winning the race. The largest

crowd for the Derby was in 1975, the 100th anniversary of the Kentucky Derby.

Besides the race itself, the two week period before that known as the Kentucky Derby

Festival is a favorite time for people in Louisville. For the past several years the Festival has

been kicked off 2 weeks before the Derby with Thunder Over Louisville. Thunder Over

Louisville is one of the biggest displays of fireworks in North America. Once Thunder Over

Louisville has started, the Derby activities begin. There are too many to list, but here are some

of the most notable events. The Balloon Glow happens on the next Friday after Thunder, where

the balloon are blown up and displayed for families to see. The next morning is the Great

Balloon Race if the weather permits it. There are many famous hot air balloons which trail the

winner of the event from the previous year and try to hit a target placed somewhere different

every year. In the week before the Derby, there is one of the 5 top 13.1 mile races in the United

States, the Mini-Marathon. A few famous runners from all over the world race and usually a

famous runner wins, but a lot of amatuer runners from Louisville run the Mini for fun. The

Great Steamboat Race is another big event. The Belle of Louisville and The Delta Queen race

down the Ohio River every year for bragging rights every year. The most family oriented event

of the Derby Festival has to be the Pegases Parade. In the parade there are floats from

companies and groups all over Louisville, and local celebrites ride on the floats for people to see.

The Pegases Parade and the other Debry Festival events are all family oriented and are fun for

everyone. The Derby Festival Basketball Classic is a basketaball game played during the week

before Derby where the nation’s top high school basketball players get to play against each other.

Another Derby event is the $1 million hole-in-one golf challenge. Another attration of Derby

time is the Chow Wagons. The Chow Wagons are places for adults and teenagers to go and eat,

play games, and listen to music. You can get into the Chow Wagon with a Pegases Pin. The

Pegases Pin’s come out every year around Derby time and have a different design every year. A

select amount of the pins are gold and the people who are lucky enough to find the gold pins win

prizes.

The Oaks is the Friday before the Derby, and alot of tourists and people from Louisville

attend it every year. Going to the Oaks and Derby is something that everyone in Louisville

should do atleast once. In the center of the track is the infield where mostly young people go to

drink and have fun. When you are in the infield you don’t really get to see much of the races, but

you still have fun because there are so many people there.

These attractions and the Derby itself makes Louisville a hot spot for travelors in the

month of May. The Kentucky Derby is the biggest tourist attraction in Louisville and it gets

bigger and better every year. Many celebrities come to Louisville for the Derby and Oaks. The

famous people sit in Millionaire’s Row, the nicest place to stay in Churchill Downs. The Derby

is televised nationally and is seen by millions of viewers.

Overall I think the Derby is the best time of year in Louisville. Between the events

before the race and Derby Day itself, there is always something to do. Unlike most professional

sport, horse racing has not changed much in the recent years. Most pro sports are now ran by

money, while the Kentucky Derby has remained unchanged for many years. It is a favorite time

of year for people in Louisville and tourists that come to see the Derby.

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