Photo by Wikimedia Commons 2.0
While horse racing has been a staple of the UK sporting calendar since the 1700’s, the Kentucky Derby was first held back in 1875 and its position on the American sporting schedule has been locked in ever since.
Hosted at the iconic Churchill Downs track in Louisville, Kentucky, the frenetic and compelling nature of the Kentucky Derby holds an allure with punters worldwide.
Coined the ‘most exciting two minutes in sports’, the race has thrown up its fair share of thrills and spills over the past 150 years, and the atmosphere and trackside is a sporting bucket list activity for any horse racing follower.
Held annually every May, all horse betting sites are fully locked in to the trials and tribulations that come with firstly making the field for the Kentucky Derby, then the key runners and riders looking to clinch glory.
As America’s oldest sporting event, the Kentucky Derby enjoys a rich and storied history, with new names writing themselves into Derby folklore every year and it continues to grow in stature year in, year out.
Influenced by The Derby
With the UK leading the way in terms of global horse racing back in the 1700 and 1800’s, the influential Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr visited the Epsom Derby in 1872 and was so enamoured by what he saw, that he decided to replicate the race in his native Kentucky.
A jockey club was quickly formed on his return and with the help of John and Henry Churchill, who sold him the land to race on (which then became known as Churchill Downs), the inaugural Kentucky Derby was born just three years later in 1875.
Originally, the Kentucky Derby was contested over the same distance as the Epsom Derby – one and a half miles but this was reduced to one and a quarter miles in 1896.
The launch of the race at Churchill Downs heralded a new era of horse racing in the United States, with many other races and tracks popping up around the country by the start of the 1900’s.
Fast and Furious
The aforementioned drop in trip at the Kentucky Derby and the relatively big size of the field for a flat race, has led to bettors fully believing that anything can happen in the Kentucky Derby,
With the race over in a relative flash, course knowledge and jockey positioning is key and that frantic approach is obvious from the outset each and every year.
The two minute time barrier is always seen as a benchmark for any Kentucky Derby winner and very few horses have been able to achieve that accolade.
Back in 1973, Secretariat broke the two minute threshold, recording a time of one minute and 59 seconds – with only Monarchos able to match the feat in winning the race back in 2001.
The blink and you’ll miss it nature has seen the Kentucky Derby stand the test of time in the American sporting calendar and it remains as important in 2025 as it ever has been.
Part of the Triple Crown
Piecing together wins across key races in any given season is the benchmark of any good horse and the Kentucky Derby is known as the ‘first jewel’ in the American flat racing trifecta.
Alongside the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes, the Kentucky Derby holds its place as the biggest contest of the three globally.
In the storied history of each race, only 13 horses have managed to achieve the coveted Triple Crown in any given season.
Sir Barton was the first to complete the set, back in 1919, while the most recent Triple Crown winner was Justify in 2018.
With more competition than ever at the sharp end of global flat racing, winning a Triple Crown is arguably tougher than it ever has been, but the Kentucky Derby is a key component in the accolade.
Iconic names of American racing
No race in the United States captures the imagination of the public like the Kentucky Derby and some of the biggest names in American and international racing have tasted glory at Churchill Downs.
With horses not able to defend their Kentucky Derby titles once they win it, no multiple race winners have been crowned but the likes of Secretariat, Seattle Slew and American Pharoah are just some of the best horses to have clinched Kentucky Derby acclaim in their careers.
In terms of jockeys, Eddie Arcaro and Bill Hartack stand alone at the top of the tree for race wins, with five apiece, while Bill Shoemaker’s four wins spanned a 30 year period.
When it comes to trainers, every horse follower worth their salt is chasing a Kentucky Derby scalp but the list of those to have tried and failed is a lot longer than those who have Derby honours to their name.
Ben Jones trained six winners in 14 years between 1938 and 1952, and his legacy will always be associated with the race.
In the modern era, Bob Baffert has matched Jones’s haul before him, with his six race wins coming between 1997 and 2020.
Biggest draw in US racing
Competition for attention in the American sporting landscape is arguably as high as it ever has been, with the social media age bringing a deeper dive than ever before for followers to any given sport.
Yet, old traditions seemingly die hard, and the Kentucky Derby continues to carry the can at the forefront of US racing.
In 2025, almost 150,000 people attended Churchill Downs on Derby day, making it one of the biggest sporting events on the global calendar in terms of footfall once again.
The Kentucky Derby has been in operation for one and a half centuries but it remains an innovator in the world of horse racing and its appeal continues to hold weight far and wide within the sporting community.
