Kentucky Derby 134

Get ready for “the most exciting two minutes in sports” — where ice-cold mint juleps, pretty girls in exotic hats and gambling on longshot trifectas dominate the pre-race party.

The 134th running of the Kentucky Derby takes place this Saturday, May 3, at the legendary 1.25-mile dirt track of Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, where the top 20 thoroughbreds “Run for the Roses” in front of a well-dressed crowd of over 150,000 — getting down and dirty with the co-eds in the infield or staying prim and proper with the celebs in the clubhouse or paddock.

NBC Sports’ “Telecast of Kentucky Derby 134” runs from 5:00-6:30 p.m. ET, which is preceded by the “Kentucky Derby Red Carpet Show” (4:30-5:00 p.m. ET) and “Access at the Kentucky Derby” (4:00-4:30 p.m. ET).

But the national television coverage starts with ESPN2’s “Breakfast at Churchill Downs” (11:00-12:00 p.m. ET), which is followed by ESPN2’s “Today at the Kentucky Derby” (12:00-3:00 p.m. ET) and ESPN’s “The Kentucky Derby Special” (3:00-5:00 p.m. ET).

The Kentucky Derby is the first leg of the Triple Crown, which also includes the Preakness Stakes (May 17) at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, and the Belmont Stakes (June 7) at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.

There have been only 11 Triple Crown winners in history — which dates back to the first Kentucky Derby in 1875, since the inaugural Preakness was in 1873 and the first Belmont ran in 1867 — and none since Affirmed in 1978.

Triple Crown Winners

1978 – Affirmed
1977 – Seattle Slew
1973 – Secretariat
1948 – Citation
1946 – Assault
1943 – Count Fleet
1941 – Whirlaway
1937 – War Admiral
1935 – Omaha
1930 – Gallant Fox
1919 – Sir Barton

The Contenders

This year’s field of Kentucky Derby contenders features big-name trainers, championship jockeys, one undefeated favorite and one fine filly.

Equestrian Coaches

Trainers design the gameplans for thoroughbred horses — deciding where and how often to race in the months leading up to the Kentucky Derby; when and how long to run in the days prior to the Run for the Roses; how to handle Derby Day; and everything detail that goes into a winning formula.

There is a reason why six trainers have won 23 of the 133 races in Kentucky Derby history — with Ben Jones winning six times; D. Wayne Lukas and Dick Thompson taking four; Bob Baffert, Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons and Max Hirsh claiming three wins.

This year, the giants of the sport have risen to the top once again. Five trainers are in control of two horses, combining for 10 of the 20 horses in this year’s Kentucky Derby.

• Steve Asmussen – Pyro (6-1), Z Fortune (15-1)

• Todd Pletcher – Monba (15-1), Cowboy Cal (20-1)

• Nick Zito – Cool Coal Man (20-1), Anak Nakal (30-1)

• Bill Mott – Court Vision (20-1), Z Humor (30-1)

• Barclay Tagg – Tale of Ekati (15-1), Big Truck (50-1)

Two of those five are proven Kentucky Derby winners. Zito won with Strike the Gold in 1991 and again with Go For Gin in 1994, while Tagg prepped Funny Cide for victory in 2003. The only other Derby-winning trainer is Michael Matz, who won with the late great Barbaro in 2006 and will attempt to do the same with Visionaire (20-1) this weekend.

The other three trainers who have multiple horses in this year’s field but no prior victories in the Derby have had distinguished careers. Mott is a Hall of Famer who is best known for training Cigar — the Horse of the Year in 1995 and 1996. Asmussen trained last year’s star colt, Curlin, to a third at the Derby, win at the Preakness and runner-up at the Belmont; but has had a career slightly tarnished by several failed post-race drug tests.

And then there is Pletcher. The star protégé of four-time Derby winner D. Wayne Lukas is a four-time Eclipse Award winner as the top trainer in North America. Pletcher also broke the record for career earnings, topping the $28 million mark last year. But the Texan is 0-for-19 horses in his Derby career.

Easy Riders

While the trainers may control every minute leading up to the starting bell, the jockeys control the most important and “most exciting two minutes in sports” on Derby Day.

A championship jockey must get off to a clean start out of the gates, then determine when is the best time to make a move to the front of the pack. That move is dependent on the style of horse, the competitiveness of the field and the conditions of the track. Some horses are frontrunners, some are late closers; some like to stay clean, some are mudders whose mudder was a mudder. It’s up to the jockey to know when to whip and when to just ride.

Amazingly, there are only seven active jockeys with Kentucky Derby wins under their silks and four of those are riding in this year’s field.

2008 Horse (Odds) – Jockey – Derby winner (Year)

• Big Brown (3-1) – Kent Desormeaux – Fusaichi Pegasus (2000), Real Quiet (1998)

• Gayego (15-1) – Mike Smith – Giacomo (1997)

• Denis of Cork (20-1) – Calvin Borel – Street Sense (2007)

• Adriano (30-1) – Edgar Prado – Barbaro (2006)

Derby Dirt

The distance of the Kentucky Derby has been 1.25-mile since 1896, after originally being run at 1.5 miles from 1875-95. One thing has remained constant, however, the race at Churchill Downs has always been run on dirt.

As strange as it sounds, modern thoroughbreds often do not run races on real dirt. The popularization of synthetic surfaces like Polytrack and Cushion track — which is made of wax-coated bits of recycled rubber and sand — have made traditional dirt less common.

In fact, two horses in this year’s Derby — Colonel John (4-1) and Bob Black Jack (20-1) — will be making their professional dirt debut at Churchill Downs on Saturday.

Results have been mixed for horses with no experience on a dirt surface. Adriano (30-1) finished ninth in a 12-horse field at Florida’s Gulfstream Park in his only dirt track race, while Gayego (15-1) won the Arkansas Derby adjusting to dirt footing for the first time.

Big Brown

This year’s odds-on favorite is Big Brown, at 3-to-1 on the morning line heading into Saturday. Although the consensus is that Big Brown is the fastest horse in the field, there are two important pieces of history working against the thoroughbred.

First of all, Big Brown is relatively untested, with three victories in only three starts — the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park (March 29), Allowance at Gulfstream Park (March 5) and Maiden Special Weight at Saratoga (Sept. 3). No horse with less than five starts has won the Kentucky Derby since Exterminator in 1918, although 30 inexperienced colts have attempted the feat.

Second, trainer Richard Dutrow Jr., along with co-owners Michael Iavarone and Richard J. Schiavo chose the No. 20 post position. With the 16th selection of posts, the Big Brown braintrust went with the starting position on the farthest outside. In the previous 133 races in Derby history, only one horse has been able to earn a win from the No. 20 spot, gelding Clyde Van Dusen in 1929.

Lady’s First?

There are 19 colts and Eight Belles, the only filly in the field, in this year’s Derby. Historically, 38 fillies have run in the Kentucky Derby but only three — Regret (1915), Genuine Risk (1980) and Winning Colors (1988) — have been dressed in the 554-rose garland at the end of the race.

Eight Belles is the first filly to Run for the Roses since 1999, when Excellent Meeting finished fifth and Three Ring came across the line in 19th place.

And although Eight Belles has never raced against male horses, she is undefeated in 2008 — with wins at the Fantasy at Oaklawn Park (April 6), the Honeybee at Oaklawn Park (March 16), the Martha Washington Stakes at Oaklawn Park (Feb. 17) and the Allowance at the Fair Grounds (Jan. 21). But above all, remember last year’s Belmont Stakes winning filly, Rags to Riches.

Hat Parade

While there will be one female horse running in the main event, there will be thousands of beautiful women sporting exotic hats, many custom-made for the Kentucky Derby.

Hats range from stylish and sophisticated in the clubhouse or paddock, all the way to wacky and tacky in the more relaxed infield atmosphere.

Mint Juleps

The official drink of the Kentucky Derby, nearly 120,000 mint juleps are served on the first weekend of May at Churchill Downs ever year.

A drink consisting of whiskey, fresh mint, simple syrup (boiling sugar and water) and crushed ice has become a Derby tradition enjoyed responsibly by many and not so much by those picking 50-1 longshots not named Giacomo (2005 Derby winner).

Run for the Roses

The winning horse in the Kentucky Derby is draped with a “garland of 554 red roses sewn into a green satin backing with the seal of the Commonwealth on one end and the twin spires and number of the running on the other.” The winning jockey is also presented with a bouquet of long-stemmed roses after the race.

The tradition started in 1896, when Ben Brush and jockey Willie Simms were given an arrangement of white and pink roses. In 1904, the red rose became the official flower of the Kentucky Derby. And in 1925, New York Times and New York Journal-American sportswriter Bill Corum — who later served as president of Churchill Downs (1950-58) — made the tradition even more popular by coining the phrase “Run for the Roses.”