Kentucky Derby Trivia Questions
What is the Kentucky Derby?
A: The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held
annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States.
When is the Kentucky Derby held?
A: On the first Saturday in May.
How long is the Kentucky Derby Festival which
takes place immediately before the derby?
A: Two weeks.
The race is a Grade I stakes race for
three-year-old Thoroughbreds at what distance?
A: One and a quarter miles (2 km) at Churchill
Downs.
The race is known in the United States as what?
A:"The Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports" or
"The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports".
It is also called "The Run for the Roses" after
what?
A: The blanket of roses draped over the winner.
It is the first leg of the what?
A: The American Triple Crown.
The Derby is followed by what race?
A: The Preakness Stakes.
What is the third leg of the Triple Crown?
A: The Belmont Stakes.
The Preakness and Belmont Stakes, took hiatuses
in 1891–1893 and 1911–1912, respectively, but
the Kentucky Derby has been run every
consecutive year since when?
A: 1875.
A horse must win all three races to win what?
A: The Triple Crown.
In the 2015 listing of the International
Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA),
the Kentucky Derby tied with the Whitney
Handicap as the what?
A: Top Grade 1 race in the United States outside
of the Breeders' Cup races.
Where does the attendance at the Kentucky Derby
rank in North America?
A: First.
The Kentucky Derby usually surpasses the
attendance of all other stakes races including
what three races?
A: The Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes, and the
Breeders' Cup.
The 142nd running of the Kentucky Derby was
Saturday, May 7, 2016 with how big of a
guaranteed purse?
A: $2 million.
In 1872, Col. Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr.,
grandson traveled to England, visiting what?
A: The Derby, a famous race that had been
running annually since 1780.
Clark went on to Paris where in 1863, a group of
racing enthusiasts had formed what?
A: The French Jockey Club and had organized the
Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp.
At the time, the Grand Prix de Paris was what?
A: The greatest race in France.
After getting home to Kentucky, what did Clark
organize>
A: The Louisville Jockey Club.
What was the purpose of the Jockey Club?
A: To raise money to build quality racing
facilities just outside the city.
The track would soon become known as what?
A: Churchill Downs, named for John and Henry
Churchill, who provided the land for the
racetrack.
Officially, the racetrack was incorporated as
Churchill Downs in what year?
A: 1937.
