History Of The Derby & Churchill Downs

Known as the “Run for the Roses” or the “Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports”, the Kentucky Derby history is very rich. The 1.25 race is the most prestigious in all of horse racing and annually features the best three-year-old thoroughbreds horses around.

On average, 150,000 visitors come each year to the Derby including locals, out-of-towners, celebrities and on occasion, presidents and royalty.

It’s come a long way since the first race where 10,000 people watched in 1875.

Kentucky Derby Historical Timeline In The 19th and 20th Century:

1874 – Col. M. Lewis Clark begins rescue of Kentucky's declining stock farm and develops Louisville Jockey Club on land that he picked up from his uncles John and Henry Churchill.

1875 – The first Kentucky Derby is held in front of a crowd of roughly 10,000, on May 17th of 1875.

1883 – The Louisville Commerical newspaper uses the name "Churchill Downs" in a report for the first time.

1889 – Pari-mutuel machines ditched because bookmakers who tell Col. Clark that the machines are cutting into their business.

1894 – A group headed by W. F. Schulte purchases the track and then incorporates as the New Louisville Jockey Club. They then proceed to construct a 285-foot grandstand.

1895 – The new grandstand in unveiled at the May 6th Derby.

1896 – A decision is made to shorten the Derby from 1 1/2 to l 1/4 miles. The main reason for the change is because the track was too long for 3-year-olds so early in the spring.

1899 – Just 12 days before the 25th Kentucky Derby, the founder, Col. Clark, was found dead on April 22nd via pistol suicide.

1902 – A syndicat group of local investors led by Louisville tailor Matt J. Winn forms a takes over the track. The first Kentucky State Fair is initiated and held at Churchill with the feature of the event being the staged collision of two locomotives for a crowd between 40,000 and 50,000.

1903 – Matt J. Winn's group starts to upgrade and renovate with the addition of a luxurious clubhouse that cost $20,000. It was constructed just in time for May 2 Derby, which then in turn leads to the Downs' first profit in history.

1907 – In 1907, for the first time auto races are held on the track. They were also held there in 1908, 1910, and 1912.

1908 – Pari-mutuel machines are back thanks to legal loophole. Bettors place wagers in excess of $67,570 through machines Derby Day, with $18,300 on the Derby alone.

1909 – There is a big push to get rid of the horse racing but the states of Kentucky, New York and Maryland withstand the "reform" movement. Horse racing is abolished in the states of California, Tennessee, Arkansas and Louisiana.

1911 – The minimum wager of is dropped from $5 to $2, and both bets and sales are tracked much closer.

1913 – 1913 was a big year because Donerail became the longest shot to win the Derby. The payout was a whopping $184.90, $41.20 and $13.20. The entry fees are changed as the track now charges $25 to nominate and $100 to start a horse, with the Downs adding $5,000 to the winning purse.

1914 – Old Rosebud sets a track record of for time with a finish of 2:03 2/5 and overall winning the Derby by eight lengths.

1915 – The females get in the record books to cap off a historic three-year stretch. Regret makes a splash by becoming the first filly to win the Derby. It was after this three year succession of headlines that the Derby officially became a signature of American sports.

1918/19 – A syndicate headed by James Graham Brown takes over Churchill Downs, Latonia, Douglas Park and the Kentucky Association, which means they bought up the four racetracks in the state but Winn remains as a vice president and general manager.

1922 – The prizing starts to get good as a gold buffet service valued at roughly $7,000, which includes a loving cup and candlesticks, is presented to the Kentucky Derby winner.

1924 – Another memorable moment as the after Black Gold wins the Golden Jubilee Derby, the trophy presented to the winner was the same style as the one used today.

1925 – WHAS, a Louisville radio station, becomes the first network radio to air a broadcast of Derby on May 16. It was then that the phrase – and now Kentucky Derby synonym – "Run for the Roses" was coined.

1928 -- Churchill Downs officially becomes the for the racetrack.

1930 – The box starting mechanism is used for the Kentucky Derby.

1931-33 – The first international broadcast of the Derby is carried on radio. The broadcast is carried and transmitted from Louisvillie, to New Jersey and all the way to England.

1935 – Thanks to the idea by Louisville Mayor Miller, the first Kentucky Derby Festival is initiated but on a limited basis.

1938 –The admission to see the Derby is 50 cents – what a deal that would be nowadays? Also, the first tunnel under the track is finished and runs from the grandstand to the infield. For the first time ever, the infield presentation stand is built and used for the Kentucky Derby winner.

1943 – The war had its effect on the Derby. Restrictions result in a "Street Car Derby," with no out-of-towner (tickets) to the race sold. Even with the restrictions, 65,000 people still make it out to see Count Fleet win easily.

1945 – The government gets involved and bans all horse racing in January threatens to break the consecutive string of Derbys at 70. But after much discussion, the ban was lifted and the 71st Derby is run June 9.

1949 – The first telecast of the Derby happens in 1949 on a limited basis by local TV. On a sad note, Col. Matt J. Winn, the man who made the Kentucky Derby the greatest horse race in the world, dies at age 88.

1952 – It didn’t take too long for television to get involved as the first network television broadcast of a Derby, thanks to CBS, was in 1952.

1959 –Wathen Knebelkamp is named Churchill's eighth president in March following the death of the previous president.

1968 – 1968 wasn’t the year that performance enhancing drugs were invented but it was the first year that a Derby winner was disqualified because of it. Dancer's Image fails a post-race drug test and second-place finisher Forward Pass moves up the totem pole to be declared the winner.

1969/70 – Lynn Stone is named president to replace the retiring Wathen Knebelkamp.

1973 – The two-minute mark hadn’t been broken in the Kentucky Derby until Secretariat came along. The magical moment came in the 99th Run for the Roses as Secretariat finished with a time of 1:59 2/5. Not surprisingly, he would go on to win the other two jewels of the Triple Crown to be the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years.

1974 – The biggest crowd in the history of thoroughbred racing crowd arrives at Churchill Downs for the 100th race. The historic total of 163,628 people see Cannonade win.

1980 – The 15-year renovation is finally over. More than $10 million in renovations nears completion and the new amendments include the Skye Terraces, a press box, jockey quarters, 12 new barns, fire-resistant tack rooms, sprinkling systems in all barns, recreation building, restroom facilities and steel, fireproof stairways in the grandstand and clubhouse.

1981 – The decision is made to create a new turf course inside the present infield.

1982 – The 55-day Spring Meet is extended to 93 days with the idea to improve the quality of racing.

1984 – The first widespread simulcast of Kentucky Derby is a massive success as it sets a North American record for wagering on a single race. $18,941,933 of action is handled on site and at 24 other tracks.

1985 –At the end of April, the new $7.5 million Kentucky Derby Museum is formally opened on the grounds.

1988 – Winning Colors becomes only the third filly in racing history to capture the Kentucky Derby as Churchill Downs sets records in attendance and wagering for the Spring and Fall races.

1990 – New renovations create more than 51,500 seats in the complex. Meanwhile on the track, Pat Day becomes the track's all-time leading rider in career wins.

1992 – A $15 million first-rate wagering and viewing complex known as the Sports Spectrum, Churchill Downs' finally opens in late November. Of note, the Kentucky Derby is televised for the first time ever to Russia through the Russian State Television and Radio Company.

1995 – 1995 was a key year for wagering as for the first time ever, Kentucky Derby wagering was offered in-state on race day to intertrack and OTB sources. The reported handlings was $1,618,608. In the race itself, Ski Captain became the first Japanese-ridded contestant to win.

1996 – The Kentucky Derby gets into the internet craze early as the site www.kentuckyderby.com is launched.

1997 – Marketing comes into play as the lowered admission prices – the lowest since 1969 – are part of a campaign to bring in families through the turnstiles. As part of the plan, Churchill Charlie, a mascot, is created and part of the initiative includes lower food pricing.

1999 – The 125th running of the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby highlighted the year, and the end of the century. Charismatic was the eventual Derby winner. NBC gets into the broadcasting game and was made the network for the Derby and Triple Crown as an announcement is made on October 4 - the five year agreement is from 2001-2005.

2000 – The turn of the millennium marked the third century that Churchill Downs offered racing.

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