The Winner’s Circle: 5 Historic Wins at the Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is very well known for its pomp and circumstance — the big hats, mint juleps, seersucker suits and other assorted bits of pageantry. But when it comes to the actual race, they don’t call it “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports” for nothing.

Every year, the Kentucky Derby showcases the best of the best in horse racing. The Derby’s track records are filled with every kind of sports story imaginable: comebacks, upsets, blowouts — there’s enough material there for more than a dozen Hollywood movies, not just “Seabiscuit.”

If you’re thinking about buying 2024 Kentucky Derby tickets, brush up on Churchill Downs’ long history first so you can properly appreciate the stakes of horse racing’s main event. To get you started, we’ve compiled the Kentucky Derby’s top five historic races and victories. Let the countdown begin:

Donerail – 1913

You want an underdog? You want a Cinderella story? We give you Donerail.

Going into the 1913 Derby, Donerail was a long shot — at best — to win the race. As things got underway, it didn’t seem like his odds improved any, either. But, as luck would have it, none of the other competitors could pull away from the pack. Multiple horses held the lead at various times during the race, with Donerail trailing just behind.

Finally, in the closing moments, Donerail nosed ahead, edging Ten Point by a mere half a length. At 90-1 odds, Donerail is still the most unlikely member of the Winner’s Circle in Derby history.

Justify – 2018

We went almost 40 years without a Triple Crown winner, but Justify made it all worth the wait in 2018 — even if the win came just three years after American Pharoah’s. Justify broke what was known as the “Curse of Apollo” to become the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby without racing as a two-year-old since Apollo in 1882, and did so against one of the most loaded Derby fields in years at the time.

The Derby took place on a rainy day at Churchill Downs, but Justify got off to a great start despite the conditions, running a length behind Promises Fulfilled in the opening quarter-mile. Justify and Promises Fulfilled were neck and neck until the final turn of the race, when the latter fell back. Justify responded to two other horses coming up the rear by opening up a longer lead and winning by an impressive 2 and a half lengths.

Between winning while never having raced as a two-year-old and topping a field full of previous high-stakes race winners, Justified’s place on lists like this one will always be high. And to add a fun twist to the history of the race, Justified is a direct descendent of both Secretariat and Count Fleet — and three other Triple Crown winners.

Seattle Slew -1977

Not to be outdone, Seattle Slew had an underdog, rags-to-riches story of his own. Famously purchased for a mere $17,500, Slew would go on to become only the 10th horse to win the Triple Crown. Not only that, but he is the only horse in racing history to do so while undefeated.

As the 1-2 odds-on favorite to win the Kentucky Derby, Seattle Slew gave the crowd a little drama by falling behind early in the first mile, only to find his groove and cruise ahead to victory by a margin of 1.75 lengths.

Count Fleet – 1943

If you like comeback stories, you’ll love Count Fleet. His 1943 racing season was marred with injuries, the worst of which occurred at the Wood Memorial Stakes. Although Count Fleet won the race, he sliced the coronet band on his left hind hoof in the process, requiring part of the hoof to be removed.

To add further doubt to any prospects of a Triple Crown campaign, the racing industry faced considerable challenges at the height of the Second World War. Transportation and travel restrictions limited attendance at even the largest events, and promoters considered cancelling the Kentucky Derby outright. But thanks to the efforts of Colonel Matt Winn, the Derby was allowed to move forward as a “street-car Derby,” which could only be attended by in-state residents who took public transportation to the track.

Count Fleet made the most of the opportunity, jostling with multiple horses to gain an early lead in the race. He held a two-length lead going into the backstretch and successfully held off a late challenge by Blue Swords to ultimately win the race by three lengths.

After the Derby, Count Fleet would again need to overcome an injury in order to win the Preakness and Belmont Stakes and complete the Triple Crown.

Secretariat – 1973

Is Secretariat an obvious choice to hold our No. 1 slot? Yes, but there’s a reason even non-racing fans know his name: He was a once-in-a-generation competitor and captured the hearts and minds of sports fans across America.

Secretariat’s 1973 Derby victory is the stuff of legend. In front of a crowd of more than 134,000 people — at the time, the largest number of people to attend a racing event in U.S. history — Secretariat fell behind early. Way behind. But battling back from a last-place position, “Big Red” ran each quarter mile segment faster than the last.

According to spectators and sportswriters on the scene, the race was Angle Light’s to lose going into the final turn. Then, magic happened, and Secretariat overtook him and grabbed the lead for good, becoming the first horse to win the Triple Crown in 25 years.

What’s most remarkable about this come-from-behind victory is that Secretariat needed to set a track record to pull it off. To this day, his 1:59:24 mark stands as the best time in Kentucky Derby history.

And that’s why he’s No. 1.

It’s not too late to be a part of history at this year’s race. Be sure to get your 2024 Kentucky Derby tickets before time runs out.