--- title: Kentucky Derby: Everything You Need to Know description: "The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports" is approaching — the Kentucky Derby will take place on Saturday. Here's what you need to know canonical: https://time.com/4765278/kentucky-derby-2017-information/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-05-03T18:10:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T04:43:51.740Z article:section: Sports og:title: Everything You Need to Know About the Kentucky Derby og:description: This is the 143rd race in the Kentucky Derby's history og:url: https://time.com/4765278/kentucky-derby-2017-information/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte4393f49fcdce072/6988cbd78e0601bcd646a393/gettyimages-677815142.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: kentucky-derby-2017 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Everything You Need to Know About the Kentucky Derby twitter:description: This is the 143rd race in the Kentucky Derby's history twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte4393f49fcdce072/6988cbd78e0601bcd646a393/gettyimages-677815142.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Everything You Need to Know About the Kentucky Derby by [Lisa Marie Segarra](https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra May 3, 2017 6:10 PM UTC  Thunder Snow gallops in preparation for the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 03, 2017 in Louisville, Kentucky. Thunder Snow gallops in preparation for the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 03, 2017 in Louisville, Kentucky.Photograph by Alex Evers—Getty/Eclipse Sportswire by [Lisa Marie Segarra](https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra May 3, 2017 6:10 PM UTC “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports” is approaching — the [Kentucky Derby](http://time.com/money/4749730/cost-of-kentucky-derby/) will take place on Saturday. The event has a long history combining horse racing and southern traditions. This year will mark the 143rd race for the annual race. ## When did the Kentucky Derby start? The [first Kentucky Derby took place in 1875.](https://www.kentuckyderby.com/history/kentucky-derby-history) After traveling to England and attending the Epson Derby in 1872, Meriwether Lewis Clark set out to create a similar event in the United States. Approximately 10,000 people were in attendance as Aristides won the first Kentucky Derby. ## What are the most famous winners? [American Pharoah](http://time.com/money/collection-post/4135178/winners-and-losers-of-the-year-2015/item/the-no-4-winner-american-pharoah/) garnered attention in 2015 as the twelfth Triple Crown winner and the first in 37 years. The Triple Crown is awarded to three-year-old Thoroughbred horses that win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. [Secretariat](http://time.com/2843812/secretariat-triple-crown-belmont-stakes/), a Triple Crown winner, holds the Kentucky Derby record, finishing the course in one minutes and 59.4 seconds set in 1973\. The winning horse also inspired the 2010 film of the same name. ## Who is expected to be this year’s winner? There’s no clear favorite among the 20 competing horses this year. [OddsShark named](http://www.oddsshark.com/horse-racing/kentucky-derby-odds) McCracken, Gunnevera, Classic Empire and Always Dreaming as safe bets. ## What are some Kentucky Derby traditions? Possibly the most iconic tradition is the easily-spotted [extravagant hats](http://time.com/4322110/kentucky-derby-race-photos-hats/), which became more popular in the 1960s after fashion rules relaxed, allowing people to try new styles. To keep cool in the Louisville heat, many Derb-goers will sip on a [mint julep.](http://time.com/3823983/kentucky-derby-mint-juleps/) The event requires over 10,000 bottles of Old Forester Mint Julep ready-to-serve cocktail, 1,000 pounds of mint and 60,000 pounds of ice, according to the [Kentucky Derby’s website.](https://www.kentuckyderby.com/history/traditions/mint-julep) Guests drink close to 120,000 mint juleps over the course of the two-day event. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4765278/kentucky-derby-2017-information/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4765278/kentucky-derby-2017-information/"},"headline":"Everything You Need to Know About the Kentucky Derby","datePublished":"2017-05-03T18:10:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:43:51.740Z","description":"This is the 143rd race in the Kentucky Derby's history","url":"https://time.com/4765278/kentucky-derby-2017-information/","keywords":["Kentucky Derby","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte4393f49fcdce072/6988cbd78e0601bcd646a393/gettyimages-677815142.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lisa Marie Segarra","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte4393f49fcdce072/6988cbd78e0601bcd646a393/gettyimages-677815142.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"kentucky-derby-2017","caption":"Kentucky Derby and Oaks Preparations","creditText":"Photograph by Alex Evers—Getty/Eclipse Sportswire","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/kentucky-derby/","name":"Kentucky Derby"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4765278/kentucky-derby-2017-information/","name":"Everything You Need to Know About the Kentucky Derby"}}]}] ```