Kentucky Derby race

The Kentucky Derby  is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter miles (2 km) at Churchill Downs.

• Tradition

In addition to the race itself, a number of traditions play a large role in the Derby atmosphere. The mint julep, an iced drink consisting of bourbon, mint and a sugar syrup, is the traditional beverage of the race. The historic drink can be served in an ice-frosted silver julep cup, but most Churchill Downs patrons sip theirs from souvenir glasses (first offered in 1939 and available in revised form each year since) printed with all previous Derby winners. Also, burgoo, a thick stew of beef, chicken, pork and vegetables, is a popular Kentucky dish served at the Derby.

• list of winning :

Most wins by a jockey
 Eddie Arcaro (1938, 1941, 1945, 1948, 1952)
 Bill Hartack (1957, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1969)Most wins by a trainer
 Ben A. Jones (1938, 1941, 1944, 1948, 1949, 1952)Most wins by an owner
 Calumet Farm (1941, 1944, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1957, 1958, 1968)Stakes record
1:59.4 - Secretariat (1973)Longest length to win a race
8 lengths - Assault (1946)
8 lengths - Whirlaway (1941)Longest shot to win the Derby
91 to 1 - Donerail (1913)

• Secretariat 1973 

was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that in 1973 became the first U.S. Triple Crown winner in 25 years. He set race records in all three events in the series – the Kentucky Derby (1:59 2/5), the Preakness Stakes (1:53), and the Belmont Stakes (2:24) – records that still stand today. He is considered to be one of the greatest Thoroughbreds of all time. In 1999, ESPN ranked Secretariat the 35th-best athlete of the 20th century, the highest-ranking racehorse on the list. He ranked second behind Man o' War in The Blood-Horse's List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century.

• Northern Dancer 1964

Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse that won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and became the most successful sire of the 20th century.The National Thoroughbred Racing Association calls him "one of the most influential sires in Thoroughbred history".

  

• Decidedly 1962

Decidedly (foaled 1959 in California) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who is best known for winning the 1962 Kentucky Derby.
Ridden by Bill Hartack, Decidedly set a new Churchill Downs track record for 1¼ miles in winning the 1962 Derby. In the second leg and third legs of theU.S. Triple Crown series, the Preakness and Belmont Stakes, he was unplaced.

In 1963 Decidedly won five of thirteen starts and set a new Keeneland Race Course record for 11/16 miles in winning the Ben Ali Handicap. He was retired from racing at age five after the 1964 season in which he won two races from ten starts.

• Proud Clarion 1967

Proud Clarion (1964-1981) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1967 Kentucky Derby. Owned and bred by John W. Galbreath, he was foaled at his Darby Dan Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. His sire was Hail To Reason, the U.S. Champion Two-Year-Old Colt for 1960, and his grandsire was Royal Charger, a son of the great Nearco. Out of the mare Breath O'Morn, Proud Clarion's damsire was Djeddah, a major stakes winner in England who in turn was a son of the French champion and 1942 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner, Djebel.

Racing at age two for trainer Loyd Gentry, Jr., Proud Clarion showed little of what his pedigree promised. Out of three starts, his best result was a third in a minor race. He finished his two-year-old season with earnings of just $805. As a three-year-old, he won a few sprint races then in the immediate lead-up to the 1967 Kentucky Derby, he ran second to Diplomat Way in the Blue Grass Stakes.

• War Emblem 2002

War Emblem (foaled February 20, 1999 in Kentucky) was the winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in 2002. His Derby time was 2:01.13.Victor Espinoza was his jockey for the Derby, never having seen the horse until the morning of the race. War Emblem, who went off at 21-to-1 odds, gave trainer Bob Baffert his third Derby winner in 12 tries. War Emblem beat the likes of Medaglia d'Oro (winner of the Travers Stakes, Jim Dandy Stakes, andWhitney Handicap among others); Perfect Drift (winner of the Stephen Foster, the Indiana Derby, and the Washington Park Handicap twice, among others); and Harlan's Holiday (winner of the Florida Derby, the Pennsylvania Derby, and the Donn Handicap among others).

• Funny Cide 2003

Funny Cide (foaled April 20, 2000) is a Thoroughbred race horse who won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes in 2003. He is the first New York-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby and the first gelding to win since Clyde Van Dusen in 1929.