LEXINGTON, Ky. — Though the past few years of the Kentucky Derby have been riddled with controversy, the first Saturday in May has also provided plenty of golden moments during the 21st century.
There have been feel-good underdog stories, long-shot winners, colorful personalities and plenty of excitement on the track, all key ingredients in what makes the Derby such an enduring spectacle on the sporting calendar.
Here’s a look at some of the greatest memories in recent Kentucky Derby history.
2004: An undefeated fan favorite
It isn’t often that the race favorite is also the sentimental favorite. But it also isn’t often that you see a horse like Smarty Jones, a Pennsylvania-bred colt with connections largely unknown to the Kentucky Derby scene. His owners were husband-and-wife team Roy and Pat Chapman, and his trainer (John Servis) and jockey (Stewart Elliott) had never had a Derby starter. A year after the gelding Funny Cide emerged as a popular Kentucky Derby winner, Smarty came to Churchill Downs with a perfect 6-for-6 record and won the race by nearly 3 lengths as the 4-1 favorite, becoming the first undefeated Derby winner since Seattle Slew. He went on to dominate the Preakness — winning by more than 11 lengths — before falling just short in the Belmont Stakes, caught in the stretch by long-shot Birdstone to extend a Triple Crown skid that dated to 1978. It was a heartbreaking end to Smarty’s racing career — he was retired after the Belmont loss, his only defeat — but he emerged along the way as one of the biggest fan favorites in recent Kentucky Derby history.
2005: A lottery ticket payoff
A reminder that anything can happen on Derby Day came in the form of the gray colt Giacomo, who was in 18th place more than halfway into the race before a determined rally under jockey Mike Smith to light up the tote board at 50-1 odds. The runner-up that day was 71-1 shot Closing Argument, and a $2 exacta bet paid $9,814.80. The $2 trifecta with 9-2 choice Afleet Alex in third paid more than $133,000, and the $1 superfecta paid $864,253.50 as 29-1 shot Don’t Get Mad got up for fourth place. Those exacta, trifecta and superfecta payoffs remain the biggest in Kentucky Derby history, and bettors who like the long shots dream of such a payday this time every year.
2007: Familiar connections
The 2007 edition of the Kentucky Derby brought a return to the winner’s circle for one of the race’s most memorable figures and the start of an unprecedented run for one of the sport’s most colorful characters. Street Sense, the 2-year-old champion in 2006, arrived in Louisville off a second-place finish in the Blue Grass Stakes, but he still went off as the 9-2 favorite and ultimately won the Derby under an expert ride from jockey Calvin Borel, who guided the star colt to an opening on the rail before taking over in the stretch. Street Sense was trained by Carl Nafzger, who previously won the Derby in 1990 with Unbridled. In the closing moments of that race, Nafzger entered Derby lore by narrating Unbridled’s Derby-winning move to 92-year-old owner Frances Genter. “He won it. He won it. You won the Kentucky Derby. Oh, Mrs. Genter, I love you,” Nafzger told her as a national TV audience watched. Street Sense’s victory 17 years later was a perfect Derby bookend for Nafzger, and it was just the beginning for Borel, who won two of the next three Derbys and became a Louisville legend by the end of his riding career.
2009: A Hollywood ending
In one of the most stunning Kentucky Derby moments in history, 50-1 shot Mine That Bird went from last to first under another impeccable ride from Calvin Borel, who expertly used the rail to guide the gelding over a sloppy track to a 6 3/4-length victory, the largest margin of victory in 63 years. Mine That Bird was trained by Chip Woolley, who was based in New Mexico, unknown in national racing circles, and loaded the long shot in a horse trailer attached to his pickup truck to make the cross-country drive to Churchill Downs himself, all with a broken leg sustained in a motorcycle accident. Woolley hobbled around Louisville on crutches that week, Borel added another chapter to his legend, and Mine That Bird put in a run that personified the “dreams really can come true” nature of the Kentucky Derby. A movie, 50 to 1, was later made about the unlikely story, and the underdog gelding will forever be associated with Derby upsets.
2015: A superstar emerges
A sport thirsting for a transcendent star got one seven years ago, when American Pharoah burst onto the scene and finally ended the longest Triple Crown skid in history. So many seemingly great 3-year-olds had tried and failed at the task since Affirmed last accomplished it in 1978 that there were questions over whether any horse would do it again. Pharoah put that all to rest, and it started with his 1-length win at Churchill Downs. Two weeks later, he dominated the Preakness Stakes, and three weeks after that he did the same at Belmont Park, becoming the first Triple Crown champ in 37 years. His career ended in style that fall, with a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland. His trainer, Bob Baffert, has been the subject of controversy more recently, but American Pharaoh remains a renowned figure in the sport, and last year he became the first Derby winner since Silver Charm to make the Racing Hall of Fame.
