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The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports by
At the 48,500-seat Churchill Downs
racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky,
twin spires atop the grandstand
beckon visitors to The Kentucky
Derby, the premier race of the Triple
Crown run on the first Saturday in
May. The Triple Crown, won by only
11 horses since 1919, is completed by
the Preakness in mid-May and the
Belmont in early June. The Kentucky
Derby, attracting crowds of more than
100,000 spectators and watched by
millions on television, has evolved
into an American tradition, filled with
history, hats, and (of course) horses.
Times Gone By
The derby’s legacy started 128 years
ago. To achieve the same attention
afforded to England’s Epsom Derby,
Meriwether Louis Clark Jr., builder of
Churchill Downs, visited England to
study its tracks and races. On May
17, 1875, the first horses broke from
their starting gates and galloped into
history. Nevertheless, by 1902
Colonel Matt J. Winn, a promoter,
Mali R. Schantz-Feld
More than just a race, The Kentucky Derby combines a time-honored
tradition of equine excellence and just horsing around.
needed to travel to New York to persuade
owners to enter their threeyear-old
horses in the Derby to keep
the track from bankruptcy. Fortunately,
his work paid off, and by
1920, the Derby had become the
best-known race in North America.
Modern spectators at the track can
monitor their horse’s progress with
program numbers, public address systems,
or closed-circuit televisions. In
early racing days, silks of a rainbow
of colors were necessary to distinguish
between the jockeys.
The tradition of wearing silks has
developed even more creativity today.
Whereas single colors once stood for
one’s status, such as red representing
a particular duke, while blue represented
a certain earl, now a combination
of colors and designs represents
each jockey and horse. The jockey’s
room at Churchill Downs is adorned
with hundreds of silks hung on pegs
in the order of each jockey’s races
for the day.
Stephen Foster brought music to the
ears of Kentucky Derby participants
with “My Old Kentucky Home.” The
song, reportedly played for the first
time at the derby in 1921, later
became a traditional accompaniment
to the post parade. Most years, since
1936, the song has been performed
by the University of Louisville
Marching Band. To honor the composer,
the Derby initiated the Stephen
Foster Handicap in 1982.
The Winner’s Circle
The 1-1/8 mile race is now a Grade II
event garnering a purse of $750,000,
the richest stakes at the Downs outside
of the Derby. As the winning
horse is escorted to the coveted winner’s
circle, the jockey, owner, trainer,
and breeder team share the rewards of
their efforts. The horse is covered
with a blanket sewn with 500 of the
darkest red roses and greens. Perhaps
it was because of this aromatic accolade
that the late Bill Corum, a New
York sports columnist and later Presi-
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