It’s finally the best week of the year — Kentucky Derby week. For four years, I’ve been begging The Scribe to let me write something about horse racing. Since I’m graduating in a few weeks, I’ve decided to go rogue and explain to our fine readers the most exciting two minutes in sports.
Explaining the Kentucky Derby
The Derby a grade 1 is a mile-and-a-quarter race held at Churchill Downs for 3-year-old thoroughbred horses. It is held on the first Saturday in May, which this year falls on May 3. The field is made up of the top 20-point earners, who earn points by finishing in the top four or five in the Road to the Kentucky Derby points races from September to April.
The Derby is the first in a series of races that make up horse racing’s Triple Crown. After the Derby comes the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore on May 17 and finally the Belmont Stakes in New York on June 7. Only 13 racehorses have won the Triple Crown since 1919 — most recently Justify in 2018.
In horse racing, the best racehorses compete in grade 1 stakes. From there, the second best competes in grade 2, the third best in grade 3. Beyond that there are allowances for racehorses that have won a race and maiden races for racehorses yet to win any race.
In horse racing, there are three running styles: frontrunner, stalker and closer. A frontrunner is a racehorse who wants to be first for the entire race. The stalking racehorse likes to be just behind the front runners. They inherit the lead when the frontrunner gets tired and have a head start on the closers. The closer hangs out near last for the majority of the race before starting to accelerate on the second turn.
Just because a racehorse is leading a race doesn’t mean it will automatically win. In the Derby, it’s possible for three or four racehorses to set a very fast pace that tires out the front half of the field which sets it up for the closers. Alternatively, the frontrunner could run at a slow pace that makes it difficult for the stalkers or closers to catch.
Churchill Downs hosts a couple of days of top-class racing in advance of the Derby. Early in the day, there will be a stakes racing undercard. Stakes are races for the best racehorses. On May 2, they will have the Kentucky Oaks which is the fillies, or female horse, edition of the Kentucky Derby.
The Derby can be watched on NBC on May 3. The Oaks and the undercard races can be watched on USA Network and Peacock.
The racehorses
The morning-line favorite this year, or who the bettors believe is the most likely winner, is grade 1 Santa Anita Derby winner Journalism. Journalism is an adaptable stalker whose has a reputation for a fast closing-kick, even if he experiences trouble as he did at Santa Anita.
If Journalism is Goliath, the horse Coal Battle is David. Coal Battle, a stalker, got his start in Texas and Louisiana, where racehorses tend to be slower than Kentucky or California. He is the first million-dollar winner for trainer Lonnie Briley in his 34-year career.
Prior to Journalism’s win at Santa Anita, Coal Battle was the early favorite for the Derby thanks to impressive wins at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas.
Sandman will be the easiest racehorse to spot. The grade 1 Arkansas Derby winner is almost pure white, but as a closing racehorse he will be covered in dirt when they cross the finish line. In addition to his name being a Metallica reference, Sandman is a social media star — he is part owned by influencer Griffin Johnson.
Citizen Bull is the most highly regarded frontrunner in the Derby. He is last year’s Eclipse Champion 2-year-old male.
Japanese-based racehorses nearly won last year’s Derby with Forever Young, and this year two more racehorses have made the trip across the Pacific. Admire Daytona won the UAE Derby by a nose as a frontrunner in early April. Stalker Luxor Cafe earned the Japanese Road to the Kentucky Derby invite by collecting the most points in Japan.
Each racehorse has a team of people behind it. The trainer is their coach, responsible for their daily care and exercise. The jockey is their rider during the race. The owner has either bred the horse and raised it or purchased the horse at auction.
Betting
Now, you can’t talk about horse racing without bringing up gambling. The most common bets are the win, place, show, exacta, trifecta and superfecta bets.
The win bet is placed on whoever the bettor think will win. The place bet is place on racehorses the bettor thinks will finish first or second. The show bet is for horses expected to finish in the top three. The minimum bet for these categories is $2.
The exacta, trifecta and superfecta involve multiple racehorses. In the exacta, the bettor chooses two or more racehorses to be first or second. The trifecta is for the top three. The superfecta is for the top four. If bettors “box” one of these bets, the selections can finish in any order to win a payoff. The more racehorses included in a bet, the higher the cost of the bet.
If you enjoy the Derby and find yourself wanting to see a horse race in person, local horse races take place at Arapahoe Park in Aurora, Colorado beginning in August.
Graphic via The Scribe archives.