This year, September 5th is Kentucky Derby Day! Every year, on the first Saturday of May, over 150,000 people gather in Louisville, Kentucky to witness the most exciting two minutes in sports. Of course, this year everything was thrown off by COVID-19, but tomorrow, the race is finally on...but without spectators.
The group of three-year-old Thoroughbred horses will race for the chance to win the first “jewel” of the Triple Crown. It is an occasion famous for its extravagant hats, mint julep cocktails, and general pomp and circumstance (of course, we'll miss that this year).
The history of the Kentucky Derby is as exciting as the race itself. In 1863, Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark attended the Grand Prix de Paris horserace in Paris. Inspired by what he saw, he returned to America and organized the construction of a beautiful new horseracing facility for the Louisville Jockey Club, which we know today as the Churchill Downs. The first Kentucky Derby race took place at the track in 1875.
This year,the favorites are:
- Tiz the Law, who won the Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes.
- The second choice is Honor A.P. at 5-to-1. He will break from number 16.
- The 50-to-1 longshot Finnick the Fierce drew the No. 1 post.