Kentucky Derby 2023

 FUN FACT RECORDS

10 Kentucky Derby records

1. The Kentucky Derby is called the most exciting two minutes in sports for a reason. The record for the quickest finish is held by Secretariat, who won the 1973 Derby with a time of 1:59.40 en route to the Triple Crown. 

2. The largest margin of victory in the Kentucky Derby is eight lengths, held by Old Rosebud (1914), Johnstown (1939), Whirlaway (1941) and Assault (1946).  The second-largest winning margins occurred more recently, with Barbaro (2006) and Mine That Bird (2009) each winning by 6 1/2 lengths. 

3. The biggest longshot to win the Kentucky Derby was in 1913 when Donerail won with odds of 91-1. The second biggest long shot was last year’s winner Rich Strike, who entered at 80-1.

4. Horses get just one crack at the Kentucky Derby, but that's not the case for jockeys. Eddie Arcaro and Bill Hartack have each won the Derby five times, sharing the record for most victories by a jockey. 

5. Rosie Napravnik holds the best finish for a female jockey in the Kentucky Derby, finishing fifth in 2013. Only six women jockeys have ridden in the Derby, with Diane Crump being the first in 1970. The top finish for the horse of a female trainer was Shelley Riley, who helped Casual Lies to a second place finish in the 1992 Derby. 

6. The youngest winning jockey in Kentucky Derby history is Alonzo Clayton, who guided Azra to victory in the 1892 Derby at the age of 15. As for the oldest? That was Bill Shoemaker, who won the 1986 Derby aboard Ferdinand at 54 years old. Shoemaker holds the record for most rides in the Derby with 26, including four victories -- which could have been a record-tying five had he not miscalculated the finish line aboard Gallant Mant in 1957, prematurely standing up in his stirrups as Iron Liege passed him by to claim the victory.  

7. Since the Kentucky Derby began using a starting gate, post position five has produced the most Derby winners with 10. 

8. Calumet Farm, a Thoroughbred breeding and training farm based in Lexington, leads all owners with 10 wins in the Kentucky Derby, including last year’s winner Rich Strike. The record for most wins in the Derby by a trainer is six. That's held by Ben Jones, who won six times between the years of 1938 and 1952, and Bob Baffert, who won his first Derby in 1997. Baffert was stripped of what would have been a record-breaking seventh victory when his 2021 Derby-winning horse Medina Spirit tested positive for an anti-inflammatory medication during a post-race drug test and was subsequently disqualified. Baffert received a two-year suspension from Churchill Downs.

9. The most money wagered on Kentucky Derby was in 2022 when $179 million in bets were placed. That topped the previous high of $165.5 million set in 2019. 

10. The oldest living Kentucky Derby-winning horse is 29-year-old Silver Charm, who won the 1997 “Run for the Roses.” Go for Gin, who won the 1994 Derby, and previously had been the eldest at 31 years old until passing away in 2022 of heart failure. 

Time to grab that fancy and even outrageous hat and gloves

  

The Mint Julep has been the traditional beverage of Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby for nearly a century. Each year, almost 120,000 Mint Juleps are served over the two-day period of Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby weekend at Churchill Downs Racetrack. That’s a feat that requires more than 10,000 bottles of Early Times Mint Julep Ready-to-Serve Cocktail, 1,000 pounds of freshly harvested mint and 60,000 pounds of ice.

Mint Julep makes 2 servings

Total time: 5 minutes, plus more for simple syrup preparation
Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons simple syrup (see below)
• 4 fresh mint sprigs
• Shaved ice
• 2/3 cup bourbon
• Powdered sugar
• Mint leaves

Directions:

• Pour 1 tablespoon of simple syrup into 1 tall glass.
• Add 2 sprigs mint, crush slightly (muddle), and add ice.
• Stir in 1/3 cup bourbon.
• Add more ice to fill the glass and sprinkle with powdered sugar and garnish with mint. Repeat with the remaining ingredients for the second glass.

Simple Syrup Ingredients and Directions:

• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 cup sugar
• Stir boiling water into sugar until sugar dissolves. Simple syrup will keep almost indefinitely refrigerated in a covered container.

Louisville Cooler 

• 1-1/2 oz bourbon
• 1 oz. orange juice
• 1 TB lime juice
• 1 tsp. powdered sugar
• Shake all ingredients with cracked ice and strain into a glass

Kentucky Blizzard

• 1-1/2 oz. bourbon
• 1-1/2 oz. cranberry juice
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 oz grenadine
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Shake all ingredients with cracked ice and strain into a glass

Kiss on the Lips

• 2 oz. bourbon
• 6 oz. apricot nectar
• Pour over ice and stir
  

Baby Hot Kentucky Browns
Cook's notes: Typically, this open-faced Kentucky classic is made with a heavy cheese sauce, but I found a recipe that delivers the same richness without all the saturated fat.
Recipe is adapted from Southern Living and makes 24 appetizers.
Ingredients:

• 24 pumpernickel party rye bread slices
• 1- 1/2 cups diced cooked turkey or deli turkey
• 6 bacon slices, cooked, crumbled, and divided
• 5 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced 

Parmesan Sauce

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoons butter
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup fat-free chicken broth
• 1 cup milk (I used 2%)
• 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese 
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:

• Arrange bread slices on a lightly greased baking sheet. Broil 6 inches from heat for 1 minute per side
• To prepare the sauce, combine the olive oil, butter, and minced garlic in a medium-sized pan over medium to low heat. Once the butter is completely melted, whisk in the flour until a thick mixture has been created
• Slowly add in the chicken broth and then milk
• Increase the heat and allow the mixture to get to a boiling point, reduce and allow to simmer until thickened stirring occasionally
• Add in the Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste 
• Stir in diced turkey
• Top bread evenly with a warm cheese-turkey mixture. Sprinkle evenly with a few extra tablespoons of Parmesan cheese and half of bacon
• Bake at 450° for 2 minutes or until Parmesan is melted
• Top with tomato slices, and sprinkle evenly with remaining bacon
• To make ahead: Prepare the cheese-turkey mixture, cook the bacon, and grate the Parmesan the day before the party.
• To reheat the cheese mixture, place the pan over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and warm. 
• Assemble and proceed as directed

COMING NEXT 

Kentucky Derby Pie