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A horse named Aristides, with Oliver Lewis up, was the first winner of the what is now called the Kentucky Derby. He ran the race in 2:37.75 over a mile and a half course. The distance was changed to a mile and a quarter in 1896.

The fastest Derby was in 1973, by Secretariat, who broke the two-minute mark and blazed the mile and a quarter in 1:59.4. Remarkably, each quarter mile split was faster than the one preceding it. No other horse has broken the two minute barrier in the Derby.

Dominated by the boys, geldings and stallions, the fillies have done some winning at the Derby too. Three fillies have won the Kentucky Derby: Favored Regret in 1915, Genuine Risk in 1980 and Winning Colors in 1988.

Twenty one horses, from Day Star in 1878 to Winning Colors a hundred and ten years later, have led the race wire-to-wire.

Many great horses - Man o' War, Seabiscuit, Kelso, Buckpasser, John Henry, Cigar - never raced in the Derby; others, such as Native Dancer, Nashua, Bold Ruler, Round Table and Alydar, ran and didn't win.

Willie Shoemaker will never live down what he did in the Kentucky Derby in 1957. Leading on Gallant Man, he mistakenly pulled up 110 yards before the finish line and was passed by Iron Liege. But Shoemaker will also never be forgotten for what he did at Churchill Downs in 1986, when he became the oldest jockey to win the Kentucky Derby. He was 54 when he rode Ferdinand, trained by 73-year-old Charlie Whittingham, to the Derby win.

Two jockeys, Eddie Arcaro and Bill Hartack, have each ridden five Kentucky Derby winners.

Eight horses that have won the Kentucky Derby have been bred by Calumet Farm in Kentucky.

Jockey Eddie Arcaro rode to two Triple Crown wins. The first on Whirlaway in 1941, and then on Citation in 1948.

The first woman to ride in the Kentucky Derby was Diane Crump on May 2, 1970.

A racehorse averages a weight loss of between 15 and 25 pounds during a race.

Racehorses have been known to wear out new shoes in one race.

No matter when a racehorse is born, they all "become" a year older on New Year's Day.

Horse-racing regulations state that no race horse's name may contain more than eighteen letters. Names that are too long would be cumbersome on racing sheets.