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.
Time to grab that fancy hat and gloves
The Mint Julep has been the traditional beverage of Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby for nearly a century.
Almost 120,000 Mint Juleps are served yearly over the two days of Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby weekend at Churchill Downs Racetrack. That feat requires over 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
- Pour 1 tablespoon Simple Syrup into 1 tall glass
- Add 2 sprigs of mint, crushed slightly, and add ice
- Stir in 1/3 cup bourbon
- Add more ice to fill the glass, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and garnish with mint. Repeat with the remaining ingredients for the second glass
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 cup sugar
- Stir boiling water into the sugar until the sugar dissolves. Simple syrup will keep almost indefinitely refrigerated in a covered container.

- 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon dried dill weed or 1 tablespoon fresh dill
- 1 drop green food coloring, optional
- 3/4-1 cup finely chopped peeled English cucumber, patted dry
- 1/4 cup finely chopped green onion
- Dash red pepper flakes
- Optional: Snack on rye bread, pita bread wedges, and assorted fresh vegetables
- In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, salt, white pepper, dill, and, if desired, food coloring; beat until smooth.
- Stir in the cucumber and onion. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Serve with snack rye bread, pita bread wedges, or vegetables as desired.