1875 Kentucky Derby

Horse race 1st Kentucky Derby Grade I stakes race Kentucky Derby Original Churchill Downs grandstands, 1875.png Grandstands of the Louisville Jockey Club grounds, 1875 Churchill Downs May 17, 1875 Aristides Oliver Lewis Ansel Williamson H. Price McGrath Dirt 1876 The 1875 Kentucky Derby was the first running of the annually recurring race, taking place on May 17, 1875.Renau Lynn S. John E. Kleber 2001 The Encyclopedia of Louisville Kentucky Derby 467–470 University Press of Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky 0-8131-2100-0 247857447 https://books.google.com/books?id=pXbYITw4ZesC January 28, 2024 March 13, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230313151808/https://books.google.com/books?id=pXbYITw4ZesC live O'Connor John L. History of the Kentucky Derby, 1875-1921 First Derby 1875 134–137 Rider Press 1921 New York https://archive.org/details/historyofkentuck00ocon/page/n1/mode/2up January 28, 2024 It took place on the Louisville Jockey Club Grounds as a 1.5-mile run. The track was not called Churchill Downs until 1884 and the traditional distance of 1.25 miles was not established until 1896.1884-05-16 Pointers and Pooling https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal-pointers-and-pooling/184800183/ 2025-11-24 The Courier-Journal 6 2025-12-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20251219221623/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal-pointers-and-pooling/184800183/ live That first Derby was a 1.5-mile race, and the traditional distance of 1.25 miles was not established until the 1896 Derby.2018-03-27 Kentucky Derby - Winners, Race & Outfits HISTORY https://www.history.com/articles/kentucky-derby https://web.archive.org/web/20250418004422/https://www.history.com/articles/kentucky-derby 2025-04-18 2025-11-24 HISTORY en-US For the first several years the betting format at this race was as auction pools in which people bid for the right to bet on the horse and the highest bidder then placed his bet. The bettor who picked the winning horse won the whole pot.Kentucky Derby party betting game: Horse Auction Pools in 3 Easy Steps https://www.twinspires.com/edge/racing/kentucky-derby-party-betting-game-horse-auction-pools-in-3-easy-steps/ https://web.archive.org/web/20250429190339/https://www.twinspires.com/edge/racing/kentucky-derby-party-betting-game-horse-auction-pools-in-3-easy-steps/ 2025-04-29 2025-11-24 The TwinSpires Edge en-US Thirteen of the fifteen jockeys in the race, including winner Oliver Lewis, were African-American.http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/recon/jb_recon_derby_2.html The First Kentucky Derby, May 17, 1875 America's Library https://web.archive.org/web/20221205120202/http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/recon/jb_recon_derby_2.html December 5, 2022 January 28, 2024 deadWinkler Lisa The Kentucky Derby's Forgotten Jockeys https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-kentucky-derbys-forgotten-jockeys-128781428/ https://web.archive.org/web/20240223161346/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-kentucky-derbys-forgotten-jockeys-128781428/ 2024-02-23 2025-11-24 Smithsonian Magazine en Attendance was estimated at 10,000.http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1870to1879.html What Happened from 1870 to 1879 The People History January 28, 2024 December 10, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20231210003914/https://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1870to1879.html live The winner was Aristides, by two lengths. Ansel Williamson trained him and H. Price McGrath. Aristides' half-brother and stablemate Chesapeake also ran in the race.Aristides (horse) https://www.americanclassicpedigrees.com/aristides.html https://web.archive.org/web/20250805004528/https://www.americanclassicpedigrees.com/aristides.html 2025-08-05 2025-11-24 American Classic Pedigrees en Both Aristides' jockey and trainer were black. Aristides's time of 2 minutes and 37.75 seconds was at the time a world record for the distance. Full results Finished Post Horse Jockey Trainer Owner Time / behind 1st 1 Aristides Oliver Lewis Ansel Williamson H. Price McGrath 2:37.75 2nd Volcano H. Williams George H. Rice 3rd Verdigris W. Chambers C. A. Lewis 4th Bob Woolley William Walker Robinson, Morgan & Co. 5th Ten Broeck M. Kelso Harry Colston Frank B. Harper 6th Grenoble J. Carter Allen Bashford 7th Bill Bruce M. Jones S. J. Salyer 8th Chesapeake W. Henry H. Price McGrath 9th Searcher Raleigh Colston Jr. J. B. Rodes 10th Ascension William Lakeland William Cottrill 11th Enlister Cyrus Holloway Stringfield & Clay 12th McCreery D. Jones Gen. Abe Buford 13th Warsaw Masterson Stringfield & Clay 14th Vagabond J. Houston A.B. Lewis & Co. 15th Gold Mine Stradford James A. Grinstead Payout The winner received a purse of $2,850. The second-place finisher received $200.http://d3b4lt1s53xf6k.cloudfront.net/sites/kentuckyderby.com/files/charts/1875.pdf 1875 Kentucky Derby Results Tables July 8, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20110723045911/http://d3b4lt1s53xf6k.cloudfront.net/sites/kentuckyderby.com/files/charts/1875.pdf July 23, 2011 dead References 1875 Kentucky Derby Derby Kentucky Category:May 1875 in the United States Category:1870s in Louisville, Kentucky