How Much Kentucky Derby Trivia Do You Know? - Greg Melikov


A little Derby trivia music please: “The sun shines bright on my old Kentucky Home.” 

With more than 13 decades to draw upon, here are 13 multiple-choice questions to test your Kentucky Derby knowledge. Get 10 or more correct and you go to the head of the class. Answers are at the end.
 
1) Which of these famous horses didn’t win the Derby?
 
a) Seattle Slew
b) Whirlaway
c) Gallant Fox
d) Seabiscuit
 
2) Who was the only president to attend the Derby while in office?
 
a) John F. Kennedy
b) Lyndon B. Johnson
c) Richard M. Nixon
d) Franklin D. Roosevelt
 
3) In what years were the Derby and Preakness staged on the same day?
 
a) 1898 and 1900
b) 1906 and 1908
c) 1917 and 1922
d) 1942 and 1943
 
4) Who was the oldest jockey at age 54 to win the Derby?
 
a) Eddie Arcaro
b) Bill Shoemaker
c) Earl Sande
d) Charles Kurtzinger
 
5) Who was the first woman to ride in the Derby?
 
a) Patricia Cooksey
b) Julie Krone
c) Diane Crump
d) Rosemary Homeister Jr.
 
6) How many winners have gone wire-to-wire?
 
a) 20
b) 22
c) 30
d) 37
 
7) How many fillies have captured America’s Race?
 
a) 2
b) 3
c) 4
d) 5
 
8) How many horses finished the 1 ¼ miles under two minutes?
 
a) 2
b) 3
c) 4
d) 5
 
9) In what year did the largest win payoff of $184.90 occur?
 
a) 1913
b) 1918
c) 1923
d) 2005
 
10) When was the Derby first televised?
 
a) 1948
b) 1950
c) 1952
d) 1953
 
11) In what year did the largest on-track crowd of 163,628 show up?
a) 1973
b) 1974
c) 1978
d) 1979
 
12) Who was the only winning horse disqualified?
 
a) Dancer’s Image
b) Forward Pass
c) Francie’s Hat
d) T. V. Commercial
 
13) What was the smallest win payoff for $2?
 
a) $2.60
b) $2.80
c) $3.20
d) $3.40
 
Answers to Derby trivia questions follow:
 
1) d: Seabiscuit never ran in the Kentucky Derby or other legs of the Triple Crown.
2) c: Seven presidential candidates that were elected watch the race in person, but only Richard Nixon was in Louisville as a sitting president – ‘’68 and ‘’69.
3) c: On May 12, 1917 and May 13, 1922.
4) b: Bill Shoemaker was 54 when he rode Ferdinand to victory in ’86.
5) c: Diane Crump was aboard Fathom in ’70 and finished 15th in a 17-horse field.
6) b: War Emblem in ’03 was the latest of 22 wire-to-wire winners.
7) b: Winning Colors, last of three winning fillies in ’88.
8) a: Secretariat in ’73 and Monarchos in ’01.
9) a: Donerail rewarded backers the year before World War I broke out.
10) c: CBS broadcast the first network-televised Kentucky Derby on May 3, 1952, which was won by Hill Gail.
11) b: In ’74 when Cannonade triumphed.
12) a: Dancer’s Image was placed 14th and last behind runner-up Forward Pass in ’68 when traces of phenylbutazone, known as bute, were found in his post-race urinalysis. The drug was legal at some tracks, but not at Churchill Downs at the time. The anti-inflammatory drug is now legal in Kentucky.
13) b: Count Fleet in ’43 and Citation, coupled with runner-up Coaltown, in ’48 returned $2.80 on the front end. Both won the Triple Crown.

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