Greatest Kentucky Derby Upsets

Provides a history of the Kentucky Derby and tells the stories of twelve of its most unlikely winners, including Elwood, Giacomo, Dark Star, and Genuine Risk.

In the months leading up to the 1971 Kentucky Derby, Canonero II was an unknown horse with a Venezuelan trainer who spoke only Spanish. The Derby "experts" laughed when an exercise boy rode the horse out on the track with no saddle or stirrups. But the laughter promptly ended when Canonero II charged to the front from twenty lengths back to win the Derby, followed by a victory at the Preakness Stakes in track record time. In recounting Canonero II's quest to become the first Triple Crown winner since Citation, award-winning turf historian Milt Toby tells the compelling story of how one man's wildly improbable dream became the dream of a nation and how a bargain-basement yearling born with a crooked front leg became the "people's horse."

Known as the sport of kings, horse racing has been around the track, so to speak. Out of the gates as early as ancient GreeceOCOs Olympic Games, racing would truly find its footing centuries later when Arabian horses were brought to England during the Crusades. Soon nobles with deep pockets were striking friendly wagers, and by Queen AnneOCOs reign, races with big purses were off and runningOCoand making their way across the pond. In the United States, horse racing has given the world of professional sportsOCoeven baseballOCoa run for its money. In Horse RacingOCOs Most WantedOao, readers will have the inside track on the sport that draws more than a million viewers every spring with the Triple Crown. Only eleven horses have swept this illustrious series in its 130-year history. Race alongside these near-mythical champions, the jockeys and trainers who spurred them on, and the many competitors who came, raced, but did not conquer. Whether or not itOCOs the Derby, this sport is exciting. Learn about the fastest fillies, oddest names, greatest tracks, studliest siresOCoand more. Author David L. Hudson Jr. returns to the Most WantedOao series with more than fifty lists that cover the sportOCOs surprising upsets, tragic falls, and photo-finish races. No matter if you win, place, or show, this book is a sure bet.

What makes a Kentucky Derby among the best of all time? Secretariat, Regret, Affirmed, Alysheba, and Whirlaway are just five of the Derby victories selected by a panel of racing experts as the all-time greatest, most exciting, and riveting first Saturdays in May. This edition includes a new "Honorable Mention" piece on Rich Strike's 2022 Derby win.

A history of Kentucky's famous horse race, which has run continuously since 1875. Includes stories about some of its most famous horses and jockeys.

Today’s Kentucky Derby is a multimillion-dollar spectacle involving corporate sponsorship, worldwide media coverage, and an annual citywide festival in Louisville. Over its nearly century-and-a-half history, the Kentucky Derby has grown to be one of the biggest sporting events of the year, attracting 150,000 spectators at the track and nearly 15 million television viewers on the first Saturday each May. But 1875, the year of the first Derby, was a different time. The Louisville Jockey Club track, which would one day bear the name “Churchill Downs,” was a small structure that might, on its best day, provide seating and standing room for 12,000 spectators. The grandstand was plain and functional and included a section reserved for bookmakers, whose trade was legal and who operated in the open. Perhaps most significantly, the majority of jockeys in the race were Black, in stark contrast to the present-day Derby, where participation by African-American jockeys is rare. In The First Kentucky Derby, racing historian Mark Shrager examines the events leading up to the first “Run for the Roses,” the unsuccessful effort that the winning owner might have made to rig the race for his preferred horse, and the prominent role played by African Americans in Gilded Age racing culture—a holdover from pre-emancipation days, when slaves were trained from birth to ride for their wealthy owners and grew up surrounded by the horses that would be their life’s work.

"To understand the Kentucky Derby is to understand the contemporary American spirit." One hundred and fifty years have passed since the Thoroughbreds of the inaugural Kentucky Derby sprang from the starting gate to race beneath the iconic Twin Spires of Churchill Downs. But the story of the greatest two minutes in sports is more than the pageantry of the horses and thrill of the people who love and celebrate the event. Through the decades, the Derby, like the state that founded it, has experienced profound moments of social, economic, and cultural change. As one of Kentucky's flagship cultural and economic institutions, the Thoroughbred racing industry must constantly reconcile with its past and think critically about the stories that have traditionally made it into the winner's circle. In the right hands, artifacts of material culture related to the Derby have the power to inspire nuanced stories of the past and shed light on marginalized voices in the industry's history. In The History of the Kentucky Derby in 75 Objects, Jessica K. Whitehead sets out to recover the accurate history of America's longest continuously held sporting event and establish a balance between well-known narratives and those that are less widely shared. Whitehead, curator of collections at the Kentucky Derby Museum, gives readers a personal tour of 75 objects from the museum. Her selections place Black, Latin American, and female riders, owners, and trainers closer to the center of the Derby story, spotlighting the contributions and achievements of groups that have played an increasingly important role in shaping the legacy of the Run for the Roses.

Each year on the first Saturday in May, the world turns its attention to the twin spires of Churchill Downs for the high-stakes excitement of the "greatest two minutes in sports," the Kentucky Derby. No American sporting event can claim the history, tradition, or pageantry that the Kentucky Derby holds. For more than 130 years, spectators have been fascinated by the magnificent horses that run the Louisville track. Thoroughbreds such as Secretariat and Barbaro have earned instant international fame, along with jockeys such as Isaac Murphy, Ron Turcotte, and Calvin Borel. The Kentucky Derby: How the Run for the Roses Became America's Premier Sporting Event calls this great tradition to post and illuminates its history and culture. Rising from its humble beginnings as an American variation of England's Epsom Derby, the Kentucky Derby became a centerpiece of American sports and the racing industry, confirming Kentucky's status as the Horse Capital of the World. James C. Nicholson argues that the Derby, at its essence, is a celebration of a place, existing as a connection between Kentucky's mythic past and modern society. The Derby is more than just a horse race -- it is an experience enhanced by familiar traditions, icons, and images that help Derby fans to understand Kentucky and define themselves as Americans. Today the Kentucky Derby continues to attract international attention from royalty, celebrities, racing fans, and those who simply enjoy an icy mint julep, a fabulous hat, and a wager on who will make it to the winner's circle. Nicholson provides an intriguing and thorough history of the Kentucky Derby, examining the tradition, spectacle, culture, and evolution of the Kentucky Derby -- the brightest jewel of the Triple Crown.