Hello friends! It is your pal Ed again. The month of May is a very exciting time for us horses. I want to tell you about the fastest two minutes in sports.
Most Americans do not interact with horses on a daily basis, but there is one day a year that horses capture the attention of the USA and the world. The Kentucky Derby is one of the oldest sporting events in the United States. This is a horse race that dates back to 1875. William Clark (from the famous pair Lewis and Clark) had a grandson named Meriwether Lewis Clark. Meriwether was traveling in Europe and attended a derby. He was so inspired that he came back to Kentucky and built a racetrack and the Louisville Jockey Club. This racetrack is now known as Churchill Downs where the Kentucky Derby has been held every year since 1875.
Saturday, May 4th, 2019 at 6:50pm the 145th Kentucky Derby was held at Churchill Downs. Nineteen 3 year old Thoroughbreds (a certain breed of horse) ran 1 ¼ miles. A horse named Country House won in 2 minutes and 3.93 seconds! This is why they call the Kentucky Derby “the fastest two minutes in sports”. These horses can run at about 45 miles per hour! The fastest horse to ever win the Kentucky derby was Secretariat in 1973 (pictured to the left). He ran the 1 ¼ miles in 1 minute and 59.4 seconds. Amazing!
Here is Country House (right) with his jockey and the traditional blanket of red roses. The Kentucky derby is also known as the “run for the roses” because every winner receives these roses. A jockey is the person who rides the horse during a race. In the background of this picture you can see a few women wearing fancy hats. This is another tradition of the derby.