How long is the Kentucky Derby?

The 149th running of the Kentucky Derby is this Saturday. With that in mind, exactly how long is the Kentucky Derby?

The Kentucky Derby is on Saturday, and picking a winner is anyone’s guess. It often depends on something as simple as the weather.

Reminder — some horses just love the slop!

The Derby is the first leg of the Triple Crown, and it’s arguably the most important. Churchill Downs is a staple of the sport, and the best jockeys aren’t known just for their wins, but their wins here, of all places.

So, who will win this year’s Kentucky Derby? Brian Giuffra over at BetSided has a few picks:

"“I’ll bet enough on Forte to cover all my bets and break even if he wins. Simply put, he’s the second-fastest horse in this race with a history of crossing the line first (six wins in seven career races). It’s not sexy, but it is prudent based on his performance and recent history at the Derby. The second horse I’ll bet on to Win, Place or Show is Angel of Empire,” Giuffra wrote in his preview."

How long is the Kentucky Derby?

The Derby is a 1 1/4 mile-long race. Few, if any, of the 3-year-old horses have run this far before in a race, which always makes for a spectacular finish. The distance has been altered from time to time, but it’s been set at a mile and a quarter for awhile now. Said distance and reasoning always gives longshots an opportunity, of course.

Fastest race times at Kentucky Derby

Secretariat, a racing legend by just about any metric, has the fastest ever recorded time at Churchill Downs in the Derby. Secretariat finished this race in an astounding 1:59 2/5 back in 1973, which beats out the second-fastest time by several seconds. Don’t let any horse-racing statistician tell you there was a better horse than Secretariat. He was the GOAT, for more reasons than we can count.