In “The Kentucky Derby — How the Run for the Roses Became America’s Premier Sporting Event,” author James Nicholson starts with a question that his outstanding book proceeds to answer in great detail: “What is it about the Kentucky Derby?”
Nicholson refers to the horse race as a “cultural phenomenon” and explores the paradox of the Kentucky Derby annually capturing the attention of millions, while the popularity of horse racing overall has decreased, at least when you use attendance as a metric. A study from The Jockey Club revealed that, on average, attendance at U.S. racetracks had dropped by about 30 percent between 2000 and 2022.
There is the mitigating factor of being able to watch virtually any race on your TV or mobile device, but that’s another story for another day. What is not in dispute is the Derby’s status as an iconic American sporting event, when the country stops to watch the most exciting two minutes in sports.
Here are some numbers: Last year, the attendance at Churchill Downs for the Derby was 156,710. There were 16.7 million viewers on NBC and Peacock. There was almost $211 million wagered on the Derby and a total of $320 million on all the races that day.
With the Derby, it’s as much about the intangible as the tangible. It transcends sports and while for many it’s simply a reason to dress up and sip a horrible-tasting Mint Julep, it is indisputable that it is part of the country’s psyche, a phenomenon more than a sporting event.
For those of us who follow the sport the other 364 days, Derby Day is the day we welcome the masses into our world. We understand that with that comes the unfortunate circumstance of misinformed observers offering lectures on “animal cruelty.” The opinion page of this newspaper ran a few letters in the last week from locals castigating people who would even consider going to a party to watch the Derby. The horror.
If you should be accosted by one of these self-aggrandizing crusaders for equine justice, you might point out that according to the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA), for the first time in the U.S. since data has been recorded, the racing-related fatality rate fell below 1 per 1,000 starts for a calendar year. In 2024, 99.91% of starts did not result in a fatality. From January 1 through December 31, 2024, 47 racetracks across 19 states operating under HISA’s rules recorded an aggregate racing-related fatality rate of 0.90 per 1,000 starts, an approximate 27 percent decrease from the 1.23 rate reported by HISA in 2023 and a 55 percent decrease from 2009.
But don’t you dare watch the Derby.
Let’s not focus on the narrow-minded and uninformed. Rather, let’s enjoy the spectacle that is the Kentucky Derby, started in 1875 by Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr., the grandson of famous explorer William Clark. The Derby has something for everyone, from Millionaire’s Row on the fourth floor to the beer-drinking masses in the Churchill Downs infield, not to mention the Derby parties that will be held throughout the country.
The race has produced some indelible memories, starting with the immortal Secretariat’s tour de force in 1973, his time of 1:59 2/5 seconds for the 1¼ miles still the fastest in Derby history. There have been some shocking upsets in the last 20 years — 50-1 Giacomo in 2005, 50-1 Mine That Bird in 2009 and 80-1 Rich Strike in 2022.
There has been controversy. Boston car dealer Peter Fuller’s Dancer’s Image was disqualified from the 1968 Derby win for allegedly failing a post-race drug test, though you can make a pretty strong case that Fuller got the shaft, perhaps because he was a Northerner winning a race in the South, and the fact that he donated winnings from a previous race to Martin Luther King Jr.’s widow may not have been looked upon favorably.
Trainer Bob Baffert has as many official Derby wins as anyone (6, tied with Ben Jones) and would have the record for himself other than Medina Spirit failing a drug test after winning the 2021 race (The drug he tested positive for is legal in Kentucky, but not on race day). Baffert was subsequently suspended from racing at Churchill Downs for two years and then a third when he sued the track. He returns this year with Citizen Bull, a 20-1 shot.
If you’re looking for heartwarming stories, check out the 1990 Derby, when Carl Nafzger, the trainer of Unbridled, stood next to 92-year-old owner Frances Gentner and gave her a play-by-play of the race since her failing eyesight prevented her from seeing it live. “He’s a winner, Mrs. Gentner. We won it. You won the Kentucky Derby.” It’s worth Googling.
So, what about today’s race, for those who might be inclined to place a wager. The favorite is No. 8 Journalism, a California-based horse who has won four of five races and looked very good. (The ink-stained wretches out there might consider an exacta box with No. 13 Publisher).
Also a popular choice will be No. 17 Sandman, apparently named for a Metallica song, which comes as news to the musical ignoramuses among us. He is owned in part by social media superstar Griffin Johnson, whose 10 million followers figure to bring down the odds, though the sport getting that kind of exposure is priceless.
I am going with No. 18 Sovereignty, owned by Godolphin (who also have No. 12 East Avenue in the race), trained by Bill Mott and ridden by Junior Alvarado. Those are the same connections who brought us Cody’s Wish — a horse and a story that have changed my life as I near the completion of a book, so if you want to accuse me of being biased, have at it. Sovereignty is a fast-closing colt who should be finishing strong in the stretch. I’m betting he gets there in time.
Regardless of which horse(s) you wager on, and whether you bet $2 or $2,000, enjoy the Derby and enjoy the day, one of the absolute best on the American sports calendar.
Paul Halloran is a former Item sports editor and a public relations professional who covers horse racing for the Saratoga Special and Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred magazine. He is working on a book on Cody’s Wish — “Cody: A Boy, a Horse and a Wish for Life.”
