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Kentucky Derby winners: A complete list of all-time race champions, records, Triple Crown horses | Sporting News Canada

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Kentucky Derby winners: A complete list of all-time race champions, records, Triple Crown horses | Sporting News Canada

The Kentucky Derby is set to be run on Saturday for the 150th time in its history. And per usual, the 2024 “Run for the Roses” will kickstart the quest for one of the most elusive titles in all of sports.

That would be horse racing’s Triple Crown.

To date, there have only been 13 winners of the Triple Crown. Only two horses — American Pharoah and Justify — have accomplished the feat since 1979 and only one jockey, Eddie Arcaro, has won the Triple Crown twice.

The Kentucky Derby is the first leg of the three-race series and is the intermediate race of the event at 1 1/4 miles. It has been run since 1875 and is the youngest of the three Triple Crown races despite being known as the most prestigious.

The Derby is followed by the 1 3/16-mile Preakness Stakes and the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes. There is a two-week gap between the Derby and the Preakness while the Belmont occurs three weeks after the Preakness is run.

As important as the latter two races are, neither can quite compare to the pomp and circumstance of the Kentucky Derby. The race at Churchill Downs provides its winner with a great deal of hope, as it guarantees the winner a chance to win the Triple Crown by being the first to be run.

So which horses have won the Kentucky Derby and had a chance to complete the Triple Crown? And which ones have actually achieved that feat? Here’s what to know about the history of winners on horse racing’s grandest stages.

MORE: Who will win the Kentucky Derby in 2024?

Kentucky Derby winners list

There have been 149 official winners in the history of the Kentucky Derby. Below is a list of all the winning horses and their finishing times.

Year Horse Time to finish
1875 Aristides 2:37.75
1876 Vagrant 2:38.25
1877 Baden-Baden 2:38
1878 Day Star 2:37.25
1879 Lord Murphy 2:37
1880 Fonso 2:37.50
1881 Hindoo 2:40
1882 Apollo 2:40.25
1883 Leonatus 2:43
1884 Buchanan 2:40.25
1885 Joe Cotton 2:37.25
1886 Ben Ali 2:36.25
1887 Montrose 2:39.25
1888 Macbeth II 2:38.25
1889 Spokane 2:34.50
1890 Riley 2:45
1891 Kingman 2:52.25
1892 Azra 2:41.50
1893 Lookout 2:39.25
1894 Chant 2:41
1895 Halma 2:37.50
1896 Ben Brush 2:07.75
1897 Typhoon II 2:12.50
1898 Plaudit 2:09
1899 Manuel, F. Taral 2:12
1900 Lieut. Gibson 2:06.25
1901 His Eminence 2:07.75
1902 Alan-a-Dale 2:08.75
1903 Judge Himes 2:09
1904 Elwood 2:08.50
1905 Agile 2:10.75
1906 Sir Huon 2:08.80
1907 Pink Star 2:12.60
1908 Stone Street 2:15.20
1909 Wintergreen 2:08.20
1910 Donau 2:06.40
1911 Meridian 2:05
1912 Worth 2:09.40
1913 Donerail 2:04.80
1914 Old Rosebud 2:03.40
1915 Regret 2:05.40
1916 George Smith 2:04
1917 Omar Khayyam 2:04.60
1918 Exterminator 2:10.80
1919 Sir Barton 2:09.80
1920 Paul Jones 2:09
1921 Behave Yourself 2:04.20
1922 Morvich 2:04.60
1923 Zev 2:05.40
1924 Black Gold 2:05.20
1925 Flying Ebony 2:07.60
1926 Bubbling Over 2:03.80
1927 Whiskery 2:06
1928 Reigh Count 2:10.40
1929 Clyde Van Dusen 2:10.80
1930 Gallant Fox 2:07.60
1931 Twenty Grand 2:01.80
1932 Burgoo King 2:05.20
1933 Brokers Tip 2:06.80
1934 Cavalcade 2:04
1935 Omaha 2:05
1936 Bold Venture 2:03.60
1937 War Admiral 2:03.20
1938 Lawrin 2:04.80
1939 Johnstown 2:03.40
1940 Gallahadion 2:05
1941 Whirlaway 2:01.40
1942 Shut Out 2:04.40
1943 Count Fleet 2:04
1944 Pensive 2:04.20
1945 Hoop Jr. 2:07
1946 Assault 2:06.60
1947 Jet Pilot 2:06.80
1948 Citation 2:05.40
1949 Ponder 2:04.20
1950 Middleground 2:01.60
1951 Count Turf 2:02.60
1952 Hill Gail 2:01.60
1953 Dark Star 2:02
1954 Determine 2:03
1955 Swaps 2:01.80
1956 Needles 2:03.40
1957 Iron Liege 2:02.20
1958 Tim Tam 2:05
1959 Tomy Lee 2:02.20
1960 Venetian Way 2:02.40
1961 Carry Back 2:04
1962 Decidedly 2:00.40
1963 Chateaugay 2:01.80
1964 Northern Dancer 2:00
1965 Lucky Debonair 2:01.20
1966 Kauai King 2:02
1967 Proud Clarion 2:00.60
1968 *Forward Pass 2:02.20
1969 Majestic Prince 2:01.80
1970 Dust Commander 2:03.40
1971 Canonero II 2:03.20
1972 Riva Ridge 2:01.80
1973 Secretariat 1:59.40
1974 Cannonade 2:04
1975 Foolish Pleasure 2:02
1976 Bold Forbes 2:01.60
1977 Seattle Slew 2:02.20
1978 Affirmed 2:01.20
1979 Spectacular Bid 2:02.40
1980 Genuine Risk 2:02
1981 Pleasant Colony 2:02
1982 Gato Del Sol 2:02.40
1983 Sunny’s Halo 2:02.20
1984 Swale 2:02.40
1985 Spend a Buck 2:00.20
1986 Ferdinand 2:02.80
1987 Alysheba 2:03.40
1988 Winning Colors 2:02.20
1989 Sunday Silence 2:05
1990 Unbridled 2:02
1991 Strike the Gold 2:03
1992 Lil E. Tee 2:03
1993 Sea Hero 2:02.42
1994 Go for Gin 2:03.72
1995 Thunder Gulch 2:01.77
1996 Grindstone 2:01.06
1997 Silver Charm 2:02.44
1998 Real Quiet 2:02.38
1999 Charismatic 2:03.29
2000 Fusaichi Pegasus 2:01.12
2001 Monarchos 1:59.97
2002 War Emblem 2:01.13
2003 Funny Cide 2:01.19
2004 Smarty Jones 2:04.06
2005 Giacomo 2:02.75
2006 Barbaro 2:01.36
2007 Street Sense 2:02.17
2008 Big Brown 2:01.82
2009 Mine That Bird 2:02.66
2010 Super Saver 2:04.45
2011 Animal Kingdom 2:02.04
2012 I’ll Have Another 2:01.83
2013 Orb 2:02.89
2014 California Chrome 2:03.66
2015 American Pharoah 2:03.02
2016 Nyquist 2:01.31
2017 Always Dreaming 2:03.59
2018 Justify 2:04.20
2019 Country House 2:03.93
2020 Authentic 2:00.61
2021 Mandaloun 2:01.02
2022 Rich Strike 2:02.61
2023 Mage 2:01.57

Triple Crown winners all time

Only 13 horses have won the Triple Crown in the history of the award’s existence. It was first won by Sir Barton in 1919 while Justify is the most recent Triple Crown winner after achieving the feat in 2018.

Before Justify, American Pharoah notably ended a 37-year period during which no horse won the award. Below is a full history of the Triple Crown-winning horses and jockeys dating back to 1919.

Year Horse Jockey
2018 Justify Mike Smith
2015 American Pharoah Victor Espinoza
1978 Affirmed Steve Cauthen
1977 Seattle Slew Jean Cruguet
1973 Secretariat Ron Turcotte
1948 Citation Eddie Arcaro
1946 Assault Warren Mehrtens
1943 Count Fleet Johnny Longden
1941 Whirlaway Eddie Arcaro
1937 War Admiral Charles Kurtsinger
1935 Omaha Willie “Smokey” Saunders
1930 Gallant Fox Earl Sande
1919 Sir Barton Johnny Loftus

Kentucky Derby records

  • Speed: 1:59.4 — Secretariat (1973)
  • Margin of victory: 8 lengths — Old Rosebud (1914), Johnstown (1939), Whirlaway (1941), Assault (1946)
  • Most wins by a jockey: 5 — Eddie Arcaro (1938, 1941, 1945, 1948, 1952), Bill Hartack (1957, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1969)
  • Most wins by a trainer: 6 — Ben A. Jones (1938, 1941, 1944, 1948, 1949, 1952), Bob Baffert (1997, 1998, 2002, 2015, 2018, 2020)
  • Longest odds to win: 91 to 1 — Donerail (1913)
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