Humans love watching races. It’s just innate for us to put anything together in a common place to see which is faster. On May 7, one of the biggest races of any kind will happen at Churchill Downs as the 142nd staging of the Kentucky Derby will gather some of the fastest beasts in the world. But before we witness which among the competitors will win, how about a short trip down memory lane. Below are 10 of the most memorable moments in the history of the Kentucky Derby.
Long before Jose Canseco and baseball players discovered the power of performance enhancing drugs, there was Dancer’s Image. Dancer’s Image finished the 1968 Kentucky Derby first but a test ran by racing officials revealed a banned substance (phenylbutazone) in his urine. This resulted in his disqualification, thus leaving the race’s second-place finisher Forward Pass as the 1968 Kentucky Derby winner.
9. Jockey Fight! Jockey Fight!
The 1938 Derby featured Brokers Tip and Head Play, who were neck and neck towards the finish line. At the same time, both horses’ jockeys were also engaging in a combat of their own, as Don Meade of Brokers Tip and Herb Fisher of Head Play were grabbing each other’s arms and whips down the stretch. Their tussle led to them being suspended for 30 days. Brokers Tip won the race, but the extra-curricular activities of Meade and Fisher was what made this Derby more memorable.
8. Sea Hero Blows the Competition Out of the Water
When Sea Hero entered the 1993 Kentucky Derby, it was six months since he last won a race. That didn’t discourage jockey Jerry Bailey, however. He even asked trainer Mack Miller to take the blinkers off Sea Hero prior to the race, a bold move for a horse that’s about to compete in a high-stakes race such as the Derby. But the biggest break for Sea Hero was an opening near the end of the race which he navigated through towards an unlikely victory at Churchill Downs.
7. Charismatic Defies Odds
At odds of 31-1, few people expected Charismatic to win the 1999 Kentucky Derby, let alone provide one of the most memorable finishes in the race’s history. The horse was jockeyed by a recovering drug addict who also had weight issues earlier in the year in Chris Antley. While that partnership sounds like a recipe for Churchill Downs embarrassment, the duo shocked the racing world by turning on the afterburners in the waning seconds of the competition to complete a come-from-behind victory.
6. Filly-ng it
Fillies don’t have big chances of winning in the Derby. After all, only three times in the history of the Kentucky Derby that such horse had won the event. The first occurred in 1915 and the next time it happened was 65 years later in 1980, when Genuine Risk placed first. The long wait for a Filly to win the Derby certainly made Genuine Risk’s victory even more unforgettable.
5. Monarchos Marches to Victory
Songandaprayer took off like a rocket out of the gate, setting a new record time for the race’s first half mile of the 2001 Kentucky Derby. However, Songandaprayer and his jockey appeared to have forgotten that the end goal was winning the race, as they faded afterwards, allowing Monarchos to take first place on his way to winning the Derby.
4. Winning Colors Goes Wire-to-Wire
There have been horses in the history of the Derby to lead the race from start to finish. One of them was Winning Colors, although it didn’t come easy for her. Winning Colors broke out with a big lead in the 1988 Kentucky Derby and found herself with a nice four lengths lead. Forty Niner, however, came out charging like a bullet after the final turn, giving Winning Colors a tough challenge and adding drama to the race. Fortunately for Winning Colors, the cushion she built on earlier in the race was enough to fend off Forty Niner.
3. Affirmed
Affirmed won the 1978 Derby while being guided by Steve Cauthen, who became the youngest jockey to ever win the first phase of the Triple Crown. More than that, the 1978 race became a notable bookmark of one of the fiercest rivalry in the history of horseracing between Affirmed and Alydar. Alydar placed second to Affirmed in the Derby, Preakness, and Belmont but had also gotten Affirmed’s number a few times. The 1978 Derby, however, was the undeniable apex of their rivalry.
2. Mine That Bird Owns the Field
What makes Mine That Bird’s win in the 2009 edition of the Kentucky Derby extra special was what happened in the broadcast booth. Mine that Bird was lagging behind for most of the race and looked every bit the 50-1 longshot that it was until the last stretch when it made a great move to move ahead of the pack. Durkin barely had any time left to recognize that it was Mine That Bird, who was going to win it all.
1. Secretariat Shows Who’s the GOAT
To this day, Secretariat is widely considered as the greatest of all Triple Crown ponies. Secretariat’s legend began in the 1973 Kentucky Derby. The Michael Jordan of horses trailed right out of the gate running last, but Secretariat’s pace grew as the race deepened. It passed every competitor in front of him before winning the race by two lengths. Secretariat’s final time of 1:59.40 set a new record, which remains unbroken as of this writing.
