The Kentucky Derby: A Historical Look At Horse Racings Finest
The Kentucky Derby, the premier horse race of all horse races, has a checkered history that spans 130 years. At first, it struggled to survive, owing its success to the men and women who created and sustained it.
The dream started with a young man, Col. M. Lewis Clark, grandson of Gen. William Clark, the explorer. He visited England and France in 1872 and decided that he would start a racetrack in Kentucky to revive the states horse breeding industry. Development began soon after the trip on 80 acres he obtained from his two uncles, John and Henry Churchill. Funding was through membership subscriptions that sold at $100 a piece. The track was officially opened on May 17, 1875. Four races were held that day and the winner of the featured race, the Kentucky Derby, was a horse named Aristides. Two African Americans, Oliver Lewis and Ansel Williamson, trained and jockeyed Aristides. Throughout the years, the Kentucky Derby became the focal event for Churchill Downs.
Eventually, the Kentucky State Fair held activities at Churchill Downs, but the main attraction was then and still is today betting on...
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