Los Angeles CA
4-18-2024 4:02pm

Kentucky Derby 150th Celebration: May the Force Be With You

Independence Day 1978 headlines "May the Force Be with You" echoed the "New Hope" phrase but May 4, 1979, Brit headlines used it to acknowledge Margaret Thatcher taking office.

This year's Kentucky Derby  sesquicentennial celebration falls on May 4th.  The first race was May 17, 1875, 150 years ago.

Unique characteristics of the race include:

  • It is America's oldest public sporting event.
  • It was originated by Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr., grandson of American explorer William Clark (Lewis & Clark) after visiting Britain's Epsom Downs Derby in 1872. The British race was established in 1780, it is 1.5 miles long for 3 year old horses. He convinced his uncles to donate the property and then donors built the facility now known as Churchill Downs  Kentucky Derby (history.com)
  • It has been cancelled only twice, 1945 during the war and 2020 during the national shut-down at the onset of Covid-19 diagnosis' inundating the country.
  • It is now held on the first Saturday in May.
  • The trophy is made of 3.5 pounds of 14-karat gold atop a jade base
  • The garland presented and worn by the winning horse has 400 roses (the official flower of the Derby) and weighs 40 pounds. Hence, the phrase "Run for the Roses".
  • Only 3-year-old horses can compete.
  • The race is 1.25 miles.  
  • The first race was 1.5 miles long and won by  Aristides in two minutes and 37 seconds.
  • The first race had 10,000 attendees in the stands compared to 150,000 onsite now and worldwide millions watch and wager on the event.
  • The fastest race was won by Secretariat in 1970 at 1:59:40. The other two fastest times are Monarchos, in 2001, who came close to beating the record at 1:59:97; and Northern Dancer won in 1964 at exactly 2 minutes.
  • The official drink is the Mint Julep, with more than 120,000 served to people onsite during the race.  Over 1,000 pounds of fresh mint are purchased to accompany the drink!

So, if you choose to guess (or bet) who will win based on a hunch there are all sorts of themes: May the Fourth or Force, a nod to Margaret Thatcher, the opportunity to tie or beat Secretariat's 55 year old record, maybe the sesquicentennial celebration will mirror the name of a horse, or maybe a rhyming reference or assignment of numbers equal to the characters in a name.

Whichever horse you think will win; the long-standing thrill of a very tradition rich two-minute race still holds the attention of millions of people some even sipping their Mint Julep.

 

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