The Run for the Roses is a history book filled with highs and lows.
From the stunning come-from-behind longshot win by Giacomo in 2005 to the suspension of legendary trainer Bob Baffert after the 2021 Kentucky Derby, there are plenty of golden and not-so-golden moments to pass around as the 2022 Kentucky Derby approaches.
While the most recent Kentucky sports betting bill failed in the Senate, horse betting online is legal in Kentucky through the FanDuel Racing betting app.
And it seems that interest in horse racing and the Kentucky Derby is booming, with increases in purse sizes and track improvements across the state.
Some of the great Kentucky Derby moments
A stunning win by Giacomo in 2005
In what was one of the most memorable races in the Kentucky Derby history, Giacomo, a 50-1 longshot, burst ahead of the pack in the final sixteenth of a mile to stun the Churchill Downs crowd and shock favorite Afleet Alex.
Giacomo was in 17th position on the backstretch as Spanish Chestnut blazed out into the lead and set the pace. The torrid pace took its toll on the field, taking its victims one by one down the homestretch.
Somehow, Giacomo weaved his way through about a dozen horses. He bumped into a competitor, then found his lane and blasted past Afleet Alex and Closing Argument (a 70-1 longshot) to win the race.
At the time, the horse was the second biggest winning longshot in the history of the race. A $2 superfecta ticket would’ve won $1.7 million.
Secretariat and Monarchos break the 2-minute barrier
Only two horses have ever run the Kentucky Derby in under two minutes: the great Secretariat and Monarchos.
Secretariat, arguably the greatest racehorse ever to set hoof on the track at Churchill Downs, set the track record when he crossed the line at an unbelievable 1:59 ⅖. What’s even more unbelievable is that the horse that Big Red passed down the home stretch, Sham, also turned in a sub-two-minute time.
Speed aside, Secretariat’s win was a memorable one because it was the first act in his three-part Triple Crown drama. He took home the trophy at the Preakness Stakes. And then obliterated the field by 31 lengths at the Belmont Stakes.
Monarchos, on the other hand, did not go on to forge a legendary career. However, as one of the favorites to win the 127th Kentucky Derby, he put on an impressive performance.
Jockey Jorge Chavez kept the horse near the back of the pack down the backstretch, then eased him forward around the final turn. All the while, announcer Tom Durkin was losing his mind over the pace, pointing out that record after record was falling as the horses blazed their way around the track.
“Here comes Monarchos, who sweeps to the lead,” Durkin shouted in the final furlong. “He’s pulling by two. He’s pulling away by three. Jorge Chavez and Monarchos have won the Kentucky Derby and the final time was 1:59 and ⅘ seconds. He was as fast as Secretariat!”
Mine That Bird blows our minds in 2009
Calvin Borel knows his way around a rail better than anyone, and that familiarity came up huge in the 2009 Run for the Roses.
Borel and Mine That Bird were in last place on the backstretch during the race, which was not a surprise for the 50-1 longshot. At that point, Borel told America’s Best Racing in 2019, he asked Mine That Bird for a little burst, and the horse responded well.
Borel said:
“I thought ‘Dang, I better find me some room,’ because I hadn’t even moved on him and the horses in front of us were coming back so fast. After that, when I turned for home, I thought I was a winner. He was running and they were stopping. It was just about finding some room.”
And find room he did. The NBC broadcast did a wide pan on the backstretch, such that you could see Mine That Bird surging slightly.
The camera then switched to the lead group.
On the next wide pan, Borel and Mine That Bird were rocketing through the field. Near the end of the final turn, the horse slid in near the rail, then swung out around the horse in front of him.
He then eased back into the inside as he started down the home stretch.
Announcer Durkin was so focused on the other horses barreling down the center of the track that it took him five or six seconds to realize Mine That Bird was in the lead.
“Down toward the inside coming on through … that is, uh, Mine That Bird, now has come on to take the lead as they come down to the finish,” Durkin said in disbelief. “In a spectacular, spectacular has won the Kentucky Derby. An impossible result here!”
Kentucky Derby is not proud of these lowlights
Medina Spirit stripped of his 2021 Kentucky Derby title
Thankfully, there aren’t nearly as many lows in the annals of Churchill Downs as there are highs. That being said, the lows were very low. And perhaps the darkest hour in Kentucky Derby history occurred in 2021.
That year, Medina Spirit was disqualified from his Kentucky Derby title and Bob Baffert was suspended for 90 days and banned from Churchill Downs from the Derby for two years after the horse tested positive for a banned substance on race day.
Madaloun was deemed the ex-post-facto winner. Tragically, Medina Spirit died just a few months later after collapsing following a workout at Santa Anita.
Dancer’s Image stripped of 1968 title after a positive test
Before Medina Spirit, there was Dancer’s Image. The winner of the 1968 Kentucky Derby tested positive for an anti-inflammatory that was banned on race days at Churchill Downs. The horse’s owner fought a five-year court battle to get the decision reversed, but he failed.
The scandal was heartbreaking for a couple of reasons. First, the anti-inflammatory is no longer banned. It’s about as common among racehorses as aspirin is among humans.
Second, Peter Fuller, the horse’s owner, was convinced that the positive test was retaliation for his support of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
In the weeks leading up to the race and shortly after King was assassinated, Fuller donated $75,000 to King’s widow, Coretta. Though Fuller tried to keep the donation hush-hush, word got out.
Consequently, Fuller received angry letters and death threats, and someone burned down one of his stables in New England. Security at the stables the day of the Kentucky Derby was lax, Fuller said, making it easy for someone to slip into the stables and inject a banned substance into his horse.
Maximum Security disqualified minutes after winning 2019 race
Maximum Security dominated a very soggy, muddy 2019 Kentucky Derby. The horse started fast and was in the lead for nearly the entire race.
Shortly after jockey Luis Saez guided the horse past the finish, news broke that an objection had been posted. Slow-motion replays of the horse showed that Maximum Security impeded War of Will, who had to check up.
Less than 25 minutes later, race stewards concluded that Maximum Security did indeed impede War of Will and penalized the horse with 17th place. As a result, 65-1 longshot Country House won the 145th Kentucky Derby.
