Did you know?
1. The Derby is also referred to as 'The Run for the Roses' because the winner is awarded a blanket sewn with over 400 roses post-race. This blanket weighs about 40 lbs. While the trophy only weighs about 3 1/2 lbs.
2. The Kentucky Derby was started by Lewis Clark Jr., he is the grandson of William Clark, half of the famous explorer duo Lewis and Clark.
3. The race was first televised in 1952
4. You thought people ate a lot of hot-dogs at baseball games...The amount of food consumed at the Derby is pretty astounding. On average, spectators will eat 142,000 hot dogs, 18,000 barbecue sandwiches, 13,800 pounds of beef, 32,400 jumbo shrimp, 9,000 scallops, 8,000 pounds of potatoes, 30,000 cookies and 300,000 strawberries.
5. Placing bets? Over $150 million in wagers have been placed over the last several Kentucky Derby races.
6. The Mint Julep - as many as 120,000 served each year over the two-day period of the Kentucky Oaks and Derby.
7. The fastest time ever ran at the Kentucky Derby is held by Secretariat with a time of 1:59:40 in 1973.
