America's longest continuously held sporting event turns 150 years old this Saturday. The Kentucky Derby has survived two world wars, the Depression and pandemics, including COVID-19 in 2020, when it ran in virtual silence without the usual crowd of 150,000.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As a record crowd cheered, American Pharoah rallied from behind and took aim at his remaining two rivals in the stretch. The bay colt and jockey Victor Espinoza surged to the lead with a furlong to go and thundered across the finish line a length ahead in the 2015 Kentucky Derby.
The first Saturday in May is Derby Day with all its accompanying pageantry, including fancy hats, fans dressed in their Sunday best, mint juleps served in souvenir glasses, the crowd singing “My Old Kentucky Home” and the hand-sewn garland of red roses for the winner. The Derby was the second-most watched sporting event of 2023 behind the Super Bowl.
“It’s very tough to keep them on the path to get to the Derby, get into the Derby and then, hopefully, it all goes well, and you get a good, clean trip,” said trainer Brad Cox, a Louisville native who will saddle Catching Freedom, Encino and Just a Touch on Saturday. Black riders won 15 of the first 28 Derbies, and then there were none from 1920-2000. As Jim Crow laws were introduced, segregation spread throughout the nation, including horse racing where it was nearly impossible for Black riders to get licensed.Black trainers also dominated the Derby’s early years, winning seven of the first 17 from 1875-1891. On Saturday, Larry Demeritte will be just the second since 1951 and 17th overall when he saddles long shot West Saratoga.
“We’re all trying to win this race to experience the thrill of victory,” Cox said, “and we’ve yet to do that.” Baffert fought his original two-year suspension in court, but lost a year ago. Last summer, the track said it was extending the suspension through 2024. It cited “continued concerns regarding the threat to the safety and integrity of racing he poses.”
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