Kentucky Derby History
Posted December 31, 2010 – 5:30 am in: Sports
Horse betting enthusiasts from around the country have come to love the Triple Crown of America. Starting with the Kentucky Derby in the beginning of May, online horse betting fans have come to love watching all three legs to make up the Triple Crown.Today we look further into the first leg of the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby.
In 1872, Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr. the grandson of famous American traveler William Clark travelled with several of his fellow Civil War veteran colleagues to England. It was during his trip to England and to France, that the younger Clark was witness to two of Europe’s greatest horse races, the Epsom Derby and Grand Prix De Paris. Essentially, the two European races amazed Meriwether so much that he decided that he must create an American equivalent to those races.
Enter Churchill Downs Race Track, which was created in 1873. Meriwether Clark had taken a loan from his two uncles John and Henry Churchill in order to build the race track. The deal had the Race Track being named after the two uncles since they paid for the venture.
In 1875, the first Kentucky Derby Race was held at Churchill Downs Race Track. The race was run amongst a field of 15 three year old horses, with the winner being a horse named Aristides. What’s more, the jockey’s name was Oliver Lewis, and he was an African American jockey. During the Kentucky Derby’s first 15 years, African American jockey’s won the race on seven different occasions.
What’s more, Meriwether Clark Jr. only ran the race track for the first 20 years of its existence, as he had a severe gambling problem. Eventually after several years of mismanagement by a variety of track owners, the city of Louisville bought the track and has run it ever since.
Tags: horse betting, Kentucky Derby, online horse betting, Race Track, Triple Crown
