Cool Kentucky Derby Facts

1. 19 past winners have had names that started with the letter "S"

2. Spectators will eat about 142,000 hotdogs on Derby day.

3. About 120,000 mint juleps are consumed at the derby.

4. In 1892 only three horses ran in the derby.

5. The first Derby winner was Aristides.

6. The Derby field is limited to 20 starters.

7. The winning horse wears the garland of roses. The jockey gets 60 long stemmed roses wrapped in 10 feet of ribbon.

8. Funny Cide was the 2003 Derby Winner.

9. Alydar was the horse that Affirmed beat in all three of the triple crown races.

10. Big Brown was the first to win from the 20th gate position since 1929

11. A horse cannot win the Derby more than once. It is restricted to three-year-olds on the first Saturday in May which leaves only one opportunity.

12. The average temperature on derby day is a high of 74 and a low of 53.

13. California Chrome won the 2014 Kentucky Derby.

14. The Derby distance is a mile and a quarter

15. The Derby has about 105,700 spectators.

16. 12 Kentucky Derby winners went on to sire derby winners.

17. The last foreign-bred horse to win the race was Castledale in 2004.

18. The starting gate was first used in 1930 and used ever since.

19. The two youngest derby winning jockeys were both 15 years old.

20. There have been 52 bay derby winners, 46 chestnut derby winners, 31 dark bay/brown derby winners, and 8 gray/roan derby winners.