Better Homes And Gardens Kentucky Derby

1. Nineteen past winners have had names beginning with the letter "S," including Secretariat, the fastest horse in Kentucky Derby history, who completed the 1973 race in just under two minutes.

2. The amount of food consumed at the Derby is pretty astounding. On average, spectators will eat 142,000 hot dogs, 18,000 barbecue sandwiches, 13,800 pounds of beef, 32,400 jumbo shrimp, 9,000 scallops, 8,000 pounds of potatoes, 30,000 cookies and 300,000 strawberries.

3. Only three horses raced in the 1892 Kentucky Derby.

4. It makes up one third of the coveted Triple Crown along with the Belmont Stakes and the Preakness Stakes.

5. The traditional drink of the Derby is the mint julep, and over 120,000 are said to be consumed at the race each year.

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6. Diane Crump was the first woman jockey to ever ride in the Derby; there has yet to be a female winner, but Shelley Riley came the closest in 1992 when she came in second.

7. The Kentucky Derby trophy only weighs 3.5 lbs.

8. The youngest jockey to win the esteemed race, Alonzo "Lonnie" Clayton, was just 15 come derby day in 1892. Bill Shoemaker continues to hold the title as the oldest winner; he was 54 when he took home the 1986 title.

9. Bill Shoemaker has also ridden the most Kentucky Derby horses (26) in history.

10. The record low temperature at the race (held on the first week of May every year) was 47 degrees in 1935 and 1957. The record high was 94 degrees in 1959.

11. Churchill Downs founder and president Col. M. Lewis Clark might have made the rose the official flower of the race after attending an 1883 post-derby party where socialite E. Berry Wall was handing the flower out to the ladies in attendance.

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12. The Derby is also referred to as 'The Run for the Roses' because the winner is awarded a blanket sewn with over 400 roses post-race. This blanket weighs about 40 lbs.

13. Owner Calumet Farm holds the record for most Kentucky Derby wins, with 8. "Plain Ben" Jones holds the record for trainer with the most wins (6).

14. Post No. 1 has become known as "the dreaded rail" due to its tendency to leave horses boxed in behind other racers, making it difficult to pull away from the pack.

15. 1919 champion Sir Barton was the first Triple Crown winner, however he hadn't won a race before arriving at the Derby.

16. All thoroughbred race horses have the same birthday—January 1. No matter what day a hoarse was born on during the year, race horse age is marked from New Year's Day in order to make it easier to keep track of bloodlines.

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17. Only 3 year old horses are allowed to compete in the Kentucky Derby.

18. The Derby has never been cancelled or postponed due to inclement weather.

19. The Derby has only been held on a day other than the first Saturday in May twice—once in 1945, when a wartime ban on horse racing postponed the event, and a second time in 2020 when the race was delayed until September by the COVID-19 pandemic.

20. The historic 1¼-mile race was originally 1½ miles before the current distance was established in 1896.

21. The Kentucky Derby was started by Lewis Clark Jr.—grandson of William Clark, half of the famous explorer duo Lewis and Clark—after he saw England's Epsom Derby.

22. Only three fillies (female horses) have won the Derby: Regret in 1915, Genuine Risk in 1980, and Winning Colors in 1988.

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23. The 2018 event set the record for the wettest Kentucky Derby in history, with 3.15 inches of rainfall according to the National Weather Service.

24. The race was first televised in 1952.

25. The current purse for the Derby is $3 million, with the winner taking home $1.86 million, $600,000 for second place, $300,000 for third place, $150,000 for fourth place, and $90,000 for fifth.

26. In 2019, for the first time in the Derby's history, the horse that crossed the finish line first didn't win. The horse that ran the track fastest, Maximum Security, was disqualified for impeding another horse, resulting in the second-place finisher, Country House, being moved up to the winner's circle.

Lauren Hubbard Writer Lauren Hubbard is a freelance writer and Town & Country contributor who covers beauty, shopping, entertainment, travel, home decor, wine, and cocktails.

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