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Often called the most exciting two minutes in sports, the Kentucky Derby is long on history and pageantry. Each year, the first Saturday in May is reserved for Derby Day. From the tension packed paddock area, to the playing of "My Old Kentucky Home," to the loading at the starting gate and electrifying start, the Kentucky Derby is an event not to be missed.

At each Derby meeting, the most coveted piece of real estate is the precious few furlongs of the stretch run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY. A race like no others, the Derby is the first step for three year old thoroughbreds competing for the coveted Triple Crown and three year old Horse of the Year titles. At a mile and a quarter on dirt, the Kentucky Derby is a true test for these young athletes.

Unlike comparable sports championships, the Kentucky Derby comes early in the season, rather than at the end of a grueling series of games and playoffs. Being early means that the Derby brings the news. It is the first time that the best horses in the crop of three-year-olds meet.

Three-year-old horses are like college basketball players, just coming into their full maturity, but not as strong and fast as they will be at four. Before the first Saturday in May, they have been racing in Florida, California, New York, Arkansas, Louisiana and over at Keeneland in Lexington, many of them studiously avoiding each other before the big race.

Each year on the first Saturday in May, a field of three-year-olds contend for the winner's circle and a chance at the Triple Crown.