The most exciting 2 minutes in sports, really was, all the way to the photo finish!
The 150th Kentucky Derby "Run for the Roses" was run on Saturday, May 4, 2024, at 3:57 pm PST.
20 horses competed for the coveted crown at the Kentucky Derby.
Mystik Dan, won by a nose in the race's closest finish in more than 50 years.
A little history about the "Run for the Roses" horse race.
Col. Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr., a grandson of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition, founded and built the racing facility now known as Churchill Downs.
May 17, 1875, was the first running of the Kentucky Derby with a field of 15 horses, in front of a crowd of 10,000 people.
The Kentucky Derby was first run at 1 1⁄2 miles (12 furlongs; 2.4 km)
In 1896 it was changed to its current length, 1 1⁄4 miles (10 furlongs; 2 km).
The track was initially successful, but ran into hard times, which caused it to fall out of favor in the racing community until 1902 when it was purchased by the Winn syndicate.
The track prospered and the Kentucky Derby then became the preeminent stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses in North America.
The Kentucky Derby is the oldest continuously held major sporting event in the United States (1875).
Two other races succeeded the Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes.
The winner of all three races would have earned the Triple Crown.
Here are the winners.
1919 - Sir Barton
1930 - Gallant Fox
1935 - Omaha
1937 - War Admiral
1941 - Whirlaway
1943 - Count Fleet
1946 - Assault
1948 - Citation
1973 - Secretariat
1977 - Seattle Slew
1978 - Affirmed
2015 - American Pharoah
2018 - Justify
The fastest time ever run in the Derby was in 1973 at 1:59.4 minutes, by Secretariat. He also set speed records in all three races.
The Derby first offered a $1 million purse in 1996
In 2005 it was doubled to $2 million.
In 2019 it went up to $3 million.
In 2024 it went up to $5 million for the 150th Kentucky Derby.
Seems as though racing pays off, if you are lucky.
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