May Highlights the Kentucky Derby
Louisville’s Churchill Downs Historically Great Horse Races
May 1, 2009
From the beginning, Kentucky has been a state of horse lovers. In fact, as reported on the Kentucky Derby’s official website, it has been claimed that the state’s earliest races were held on Louisville’s downtown Market Street. Yet, Lexington is the city where Kentucky’s first horse racing track was built in 1789, not long after the founding of the United States of America.
History of Louisville’s Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby
Prior to that time, jockeys and trainers showed off their horses’ skill at The Commons, a location that wasn’t up to par to continue holding horse races at. Next, there was the Oakland Race Course which opened in 1833. Finally, Louisville’s Churchill Downs was built and open for business some 42 years later. Today the Churchill Downs is more than a state favorite for horse lovers; the venue is a national darling, especially during the month of May.
Lewis Clark is a key pioneer responsible for the success of the sport in Kentucky. At only 26 years old, Lewis began his work to build a reputable horse race track in the bluegrass state. He is credited with starting the Louisville Jockey Club and developing the Churchill Downs. Although the name stuck, it wasn’t until 1937 that the track was incorporated as Churchill Downs.
Great Effort Put Into the Success of the Kentucky Derby
Clark kept at it. He reached out to investors, jockeys and horse owners in his efforts to continue to advance the sport in Kentucky. When the track opened on May 17 in 1875, four races were scheduled. Winner of the very first Kentucky Derby was a horse by the name of Aristides, a horse that was ridden by two African American jockeys, Ansel Williamson and Oliver Lewis.
Years after it opened for racing, Churchill Downs was met with financial challenges. To meet those challenges, the track hosted automobile races. It wasn’t until the mid-1900s that Kentucky’s Churchill Downs saw lasting financial growth. In 2001, the track recorded its second largest live audience when 154,210 people attended the 125th Kentucky Derby.
Present Day Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby
The amazing Triple Crown winning Secretariat took the Derby’s roses in 1973 when he won in a sizzling 1:59. Seabiscuit and War Memorial are two other widely popular race horses that ran in the Kentucky Derby. In 2004 Philadelphia’s Smarty Jones was a tremendous fan favorite at the Derby and across the nation. En route to the triple crown, a title Smarty Jones came just shy of, the beloved horse won the 130th Kentucky Derby with grace and charm.
2009 horse favorites include “I Want Revenge” , “Dunkirk”, “Piioneer of the Nile” and “Friesan Fire”. Jeff Mullins trains “I Want Revenge” while Joseph Talamo jockeys the talented colt. After winning the Wood Memorial at the Aqueduct in New York, “I Want Revenge” earned its way into the hearts and minds of millions of Americans. Many enthusiasts of the sport consider the Wood Memorial to be a solid prep race for the Kentucky Derby, an event where history and victory are rich and aplenty.
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