Kentucky Derby winners: A complete list of all-time race champions, records, Triple Crown horses
Here's everything you need to know about the Kentucky Derby winners to date and the 13 horses that have won the Triple Crown.
Kentucky Derby winners: A complete list of all-time race champions, records, Triple Crown horses originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The Kentucky Derby is a staple on the spring sports calendar partly due to its fashion and fanfare, but the "Run for the Roses" also kickstarts 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 multiple times.
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.
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