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Kentucky Derby facts - The 138th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 5, 2012 has racing fans around America and the world jumping with anticipation, and those same people are scouring the internet and even books (oh no!) to research the history of this remarkable event, which is the longest continuously, yearly held sporting event in sports history. There are countless fun facts surrounding this race, and to try to tell you about anywhere close to all of them would be impossible. However, to get you in the mood for the Derby, we thought we would share some very interesting facts about this race that you may not already be aware of. So here we go: The Kentucky Derby has been run a grand total of 137 times. In all that time, there has been only one winner that was disqualified. It happened in 1968, and the name of the horse was Dancer’s Image. After finishing first in the race with no bumping or jostling of any kind, he was disqualified by the stewards because a post-race urinalysis showed that the horse had been given the then-banned drug called phenylbutazone, which at the time was banned to race horses in the state of Kentucky. As a result, Dancer’s Image was disqualified and Forward Pass, who finished second, was declared the proper winner. In an ironic twist (or maybe it was an omen), President Richard M. Nixon was there that first Saturday in May of 1968. He would go on to become the first and only President in United States history to resign from office in August of 1974. Check the favorites to win the Kentucky Derby very carefully in their final prep races before they run for the roses. If they are horses that have led from the front in every one of their races, you can be sure that that horse will not win the Kentucky Derby. Seattle Slew is pretty much the only champion in history that was lightly raced prior to the Kentucky Derby AND who led in every one of his races. However, Slew was a Triple Crown winner, a horse of unique ability, and we won’t see his second coming anytime soon. Three times in history the Kentucky Derby has actually been run BEFORE the Preakness Stakes. Two times the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes have been run ON THE SAME DAY! Want a betting tip on the winner of the Kentucky Derby? Check out their final prep races. The Kentucky Derby winner almost always finishes either first, second, or third. How often, you ask. The winner of the Kentucky Derby turns out to have finished 1st, 2nd, or 3rd an amazing 95% of the time. So find your winner among those horses.
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