2017 Kentucky Derby
| Kentucky Derby | |
The 143rd "Run for the Roses"
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| Location |
Churchill Downs Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
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| Date | May 6, 2017 |
| Winning horse | Always Dreaming |
| Winning time | 2:03.59 |
| Jockey | John Velazquez |
| Trainer | Todd Pletcher |
| Owner | MeB Racing Stables, Brooklyn Boyz, Teresa Viola Racing Stable, St. Elias Stable, Siena Farm & West Point Thoroughbreds |
| Conditions | Wet Fast (sealed) |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Attendance | 158,070 |
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The 2017 Kentucky Derby (in full, the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands, due to sponsorship) was the 143rd running of the Kentucky Derby, and took place on Saturday, May 6, 2017. The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held each year in Louisville, Kentucky, on the first Saturday in May, at the end of the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. It is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of 1 1⁄4 miles (2.0 km), and has been run at Churchill Downs racetrack since its inception in 1875. The race was broadcast by NBC with a scheduled post time of 6:34 PM ET. The race went off at 6:52 PM ET before a crowd of 158,070 and a television TAD of 16.5 million viewers,. The winner was the post-time favorite, Always Dreaming.
The field for the Kentucky Derby was limited to twenty horses who qualified based on points earned in the Road to the Kentucky Derby, a series of races that was first introduced in 2013. Girvin was the top point-earner in 2017 after winning both the Risen Star Stakes and the Louisiana Derby.Classic Empire, who was the early Derby favorite after winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile in 2016, finished second in the qualifying series after overcoming several setbacks to win the Arkansas Derby. The other major prep race winners were Gormley (Santa Anita Derby), Irap (Blue Grass Stakes), Irish War Cry (Wood Memorial), Always Dreaming (Florida Derby) and Thunder Snow (UAE Derby). Several other contenders did not enter due to injuries or because they raced inconsistently. For example, Not This Time was an early favorite for the Derby but was injured shortly after finishing second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and was retired from racing. After an impressive win in the San Felipe Stakes, Mastery was pulled up by his jockey and was found to have a condylar fracture requiring several months to heal.
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