The Kentucky Derby is the second oldest horse race in America (the oldest is the Belmont Stakes). The race track was built on farmland in Louisville, Kentucky. The first race was held on May 17, 1875, with 10 thousand people in attendance, and has been held every year since. In the first event, an African-American named Oliver Lewis rode the winner, Aristides.

The Kentucky DerbyThe Kentucky Derby

The race is held yearly in Louisville, Kentucky, United States during the first Saturday in May. It caps off the two-week Kentucky Derby Festival.

The race is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds with a length of 2 kilometers at Churchill Downs. Colts and Geldings carry 57 kilograms or 126 pounds and fillies 55 kilograms or 121 pounds.

In the United States, the race is known to be “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports” or “The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports” because of its duration. It is also known to be “The Run for the Roses” because the winner is draped with 554 red roses, a tradition which started in 1883.

The Kentucky Derby is one event of the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, and is the most prestigious of these races. The other events are Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. To win the Triple Crown, the horse must win all the three races in the same year.

The audience for the Kentucky Derby usually surpasses the attendance of all other stakes races including the Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes and the Breeders’ Cup.

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Recent Race Results

  • 2019 Kentucky Derby: There was high drama at the 2019 Kentucky Derby. Maximum Security led all the way, only to become the first winner disqualified for interference in the race's 145-year history. After a long wait, long shot Country House was declared the winner. Country House paid 65-1, the second-highest odds for a winner in Derby history. The only other disqualification in the Derby occurred long after the race in 1968. Dancer's Image, the first-place finisher, later tested positive for a prohibited substance, and Kentucky state racing officials ordered the purse money to be redistributed.
  • 2020 Kentucky Derby: The 2020 Kentucky Derby was postponed due to the corona virus pandemic. Instead of being held in the first week of May, it was held in September 2020.

  • 2021 Kentucky Derby: Medina Spirit crossed the finish line first but was later disqualified due to a medication violation. In 2022, runner-up Mandaloun was officially declared the winner.

  • 2022 Kentucky Derby: 80-1 outsider Rich Strike stunned with the second biggest upset in Kentucky Derby history (behind the 1913 winner Donerail winning at odds of 91–1).

  • 2023 Kentucky Derby: Mage won the 149th running in a come-from-behind victory. The race was notable for the late scratch of the favorite, Forte, and heightened discussions regarding track safety at Churchill Downs.

  • 2024 Kentucky Derby: In the 150th anniversary race, Mystik Dan won in a dramatic three-horse photo finish, defeating Sierra Leone and Forever Young by a nose—the closest finish in the race since 1996.

  • 2025 Kentucky Derby: Sovereignty won for trainer Bill Mott and owner Godolphin Racing, marking jockey Junior Alvarado's first Derby victory. By winning the Kentucky Oaks the previous day with Good Cheer, Godolphin became the first sole owner to sweep both the Oaks and the Derby in the same year since 1952.

  • 2026 Kentucky Derby: Golden Tempo won the race by a head over Renegade, making Cherie DeVaux the first female trainer in history to win the Kentucky Derby. The victory also gave jockey José Ortiz his first Derby win. The start of the race was notably delayed after Great White flipped in the starting gate and had to be scratched.