Kentucky Derby Betting Odds at WagerWeb Racebook

Kentucky Derby betting odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook

The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses, staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is over one and a quarter miles (2 km) at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds (57.2 kg) and fillies 121 pounds (54.9 kg). The race is known in the United States as "The Most Exciting 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 Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in the US and typically draws around 155,000 fans.   History   Kentucky has been a major center of horse breeding and racing since the late 1700s due to the Ordovician fields of the Bluegrass region, which contains higher than average amounts of calcium and thus produced superior race horses.   In 1872, Col. Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr., grandson of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition, traveled to England, visiting the Epsom 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 Grand Prix de Paris, which eventually became the famous Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.   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 Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr.'s relatives, John and Henry Churchill, who had provided the land for the racetrack. Officially, the racetrack was incorporated as Churchill Downs in 1937.

 

The Kentucky Derby was first run at 1.5 miles (2.4 km), the same distance as the Epsom Derby and the Grand Prix de Paris. In 1896, the distance was changed to its current 1.25 miles (2 km). On May 17, 1875, in front of an estimated crowd of 10,000 people, a field of 15 three-year-old horses contested the first Derby. Under African-American 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 became the preeminent thoroughbred horse race in 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, 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 racing at age two.

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.

 

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.

 

Winners of the last 17 years

Year	Winner	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
1990	Unbridled	Craig Perret	Carl Nafzger	Frances A. Genter	2:02.00
1991	Strike the Gold	Chris Antley	Nick Zito	BCC Stable	2:03.00
1992	Lil E. Tee	Pat Day	Lynn S. Whiting	W. Cal Partee	2:03.00
1993	Sea Hero	Jerry Bailey	Mack Miller	Rokeby Stables	2:02.40
1994	Go for Gin	Chris McCarron	Nick Zito	Condren & Cornacchia	2:03.60
1995	Thunder Gulch	Gary Stevens	D. Wayne Lukas†	Michael Tabor	2:01.20
1996	Grindstone	Jerry Bailey	D. Wayne Lukas	Overbrook Farm	2:01.00
1997	Silver Charm	Gary Stevens	Bob Baffert	R. & B. Lewis	2:02.40
1998	Real Quiet	Kent Desormeaux	Bob Baffert	Michael E. Pegram	2:02.20
1999	Charismatic	Chris Antley	D. Wayne Lukas	R. & B. Lewis	2:03.20
2000	Fusaichi Pegasus	Kent Desormeaux	Neil Drysdale	Fusao Sekiguchi	2:01.00
2001	Monarchos	Jorge Chavez	John T. Ward, Jr.	John C. Oxley	1:59.97
2002	War Emblem	Victor Espinoza	Bob Baffert	Thoroughbred Corp.	2:01.13
2003	Funny Cide	José Santos	Barclay Tagg	Sackatoga Stable	2:01.19
2004	Smarty Jones	Stewart Elliott	John Servis	Someday Farm	2:04.06
2005	Giacomo	Mike E. Smith	John Shirreffs	Jerry & Ann Moss	2:02.75
2006	Barbaro	Edgar Prado	Michael Matz	Lael Stables	2:01.36
2007	Street Sense	Calvin Borel	Carl Nafzger	James B. Tafel	2:02.17

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