Kentucky Derby: Did you know?

The Kentucky Derby has run at Churchill Downs every year since 1875. This year's race, on May 2nd, is the 135th running of the event.

From 1875 until 1895, the Kentucky Derby was run at 1 1/2 miles. In 1896, it was shortened to 1 1/4 miles (10 furlongs).

The Kentucky Derby is known as "the most exciting two minutes in sports". While many horses have come close to the two-minute mark, only two have broken it - Secretariat in 1973 (1:59.40) and Monarchos in 2001 (1:59.97).

The Kentucky Derby is called the "Run for the Roses" because of the garland of 554 red roses draped over the winner.

The Kentucky Derby typically draws around 155,000 fans. In 1974, when the Kentucky Derby was run for the 100th time, a record crowd of 163,628 fans showed up.

The 2004 Kentucky Derby marked the first time that jockeys could display corporate advertising logos on their clothing.

Approximately 120,000 mint juleps are served over the two-day period of the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby. Not surprising, considering that it's been the traditional drink of the Kentucky Derby for nearly a century.

The fewest starters in the Kentucky Derby is 3 (in 1892 and 1905) while the most is 23 (in 1974, which marked the 100th running of the Kentucky Derby). The average is 12.71.

There has been an odds-on favorite in 33 runnings of the Kentucky Derby - 18 of them won and 11 came second. Of the 11 Triple Crown winners, 3 were odds-on favorites in the Kentucky Derby.

The smallest win price in Kentucky Derby history is $2.80 on a $2 wager (paid by Citation in 1948 and Count Fleet in 1943); the largest is $184.90 (paid by Donerail in 1913).

Since 1900, the Kentucky Derby post positions with the most wins are 1 and 5 (12 wins each) and the second most wins are 4 and 10 (10 wins each).

Since 1900, the Kentucky Derby post positions with the fewest wins are 17 and 19 (0 wins each) and the second fewest wins are 18 and 20 (1 win each). No horse has won from gate 20 since 1929.

The most common color of the winning horse at the Kentucky Derby is bay (48 winners), followed closely by chestnut (43 winners). Winning Colors is the only roan to have won the race (in 1988).

Of the 38 fillies that have entered the Kentucky Derby, only three have won - Winning Colors (1988), Genuine Risk (1980) and Regret (1915).

A total of 12 Kentucky Derby champions have sired winners of the race. Bold Venture, the 1936 winner, sired two winners - Assault (1946) and Middleground (1950).

In 2005, the purse distribution for the Kentucky Derby was changed so that horses finishing fifth would receive a share of the $2 million purse. Previously, only the first four finishers got a share.

Off-track conditions have been listed in 34 runnings of the Kentucky Derby. Although some horses aren't affected by mud, it's not surprising that the slowest winning time (at the current distance) was recorded when the track was heavy.

Of the 134 winners of the Kentucky Derby, 100 were bred in Kentucky. Only four were bred outside of the United States.

The most popular first initial for winning Kentucky Derby runners is S (18 wins), the second most popular is B (12 wins) and the least popular are Q, X, and Y (0 wins each).

Most Kentucky Derby winners have run at least three prep races. In fact, Street Sense was the first to win the Kentucky Derby after just two prep races since Sunny's Halo in 1983.

When Street Sense won the 2007 Kentucky Derby, he broke a 22-year jinx - he is the first Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner to go on to win the Kentucky Derby (even though 13 others have tried). He is also the first U.S. champion 2-year-old colt to win the Kentucky Derby since Spectacular Bid in 1979.

Despite the fact that she's an avid racing fan, last year was the first time that Britain's Queen Elizabeth attended the Kentucky Derby.

After winning the 2007 Kentucky Derby, Street Sense went on to win the Travers Stakes at Saratoga. He was the first horse to win both the Travers Stakes and Kentucky Derby since Thunder Gulch did it in 1995.