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What is a Derby? Here are some facts to know about the Kentucky Derby, horse racing

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What is a Derby? Here are some facts to know about the Kentucky Derby, horse racing

If you’re working on The New York Times Connections puzzle today or have already finished, you probably have questions about a certain race that takes place at Churchill Downs every year. (Don’t worry, we won’t spoil the puzzle!)

The Courier Journal has covered the Kentucky Derby every year since the first running in 1875, when Aristides crossed the finish line at Churchill Downs. The 150th running of the Kentucky Derby was May 2024, but people can already start prepping for the 2025 race.

Here are some facts to know about the Kentucky Derby:

Here’s Merriam Webster Dictionary’s definition: “Any of several horse races held annually and usually restricted to three-year-olds.” It’s also a term used for other races and contests (and it’s a kind of hat).

The Kentucky Derby is an annual horse race that takes place at Churchill Downs in Louisville. It’s the first leg of the Triple Crown, a series of three races that includes the Preakness Stakes in Maryland and the Belmont Stakes in New York. It’s one of the biggest and most attended horse races of the year, with two weeks of festivities in Louisville leading up to the competition.

The length of the Kentucky Derby race is a mile and a quarter, or 10 furlongs. Horses usually make it around the track in a little over two minutes, with Secretariat’s 1973 pace of 1:59.40 still standing as the fastest time ever.

A furlong is a racing term that refers to an eighth of a mile.

The race is open to up to 20 3-year-old horses that have qualified through Churchill Downs’ “Road to the Kentucky Derby” points system first implemented for the 2013 running. Prep races from September through April reward horses doing their best running closest to May 4.

Thoroughbred horses are eligible to run in the Kentucky Derby.

The Kentucky Derby is the first leg of the Triple Crown, a series of three races that includes the Preakness Stakes in Maryland and the Belmont Stakes in New York.

The Kentucky Derby has been held every year since 1875 and has been staged on the first Saturday in May every year since 1946, with two exceptions. The 1945 Derby was held June 9 because of World War II and the 2020 Kentucky Derby was held Sept. 5 after it was moved over fears of the coronavirus pandemic.

The 151st running of the Kentucky Derby will be on May 3, 2025, according to the Kentucky Derby.

People can register for the presale of tickets for the 2025 Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby through the Kentucky Derby website ― kentuckyderby.com/sign-up/.

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