The Kentucky Derby

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I enjoy the Kentucky Derby every year. I get so excited to try to choose which horse will win and watch them all prance around before the race. The first Kentucky Derby was held on May 17,1875. Since then mint juleps, bowler hats, and red roses are all traditions of the event. The red rose is the official flower of the race. Diane Crump was the first woman to jockey a horse in the Kentucky Derby. That was after 95 years of its running. She was just twenty years old when she started and had over 230 victories in her career. Secretariat is known as the fastest horse ever to win a Derby. He ran the 1973 race in 1:59 2/5 time. He earned more than $1.3 million for his owners Christopher and Penny Chenery. Secretariat was euthanized, after contracting a debilitating and painful disease in his hooves, in 1989. The youngest jockey to win the Derby was fifteen year old Lonnie Clayton in 1892. The oldest jockey was Bill Shoemaker who won in 1982 at 54. In 2017 $32.8 million was wagered by attendees which was about $9 million more than the previous year.