Worldwide Ticketing provides tickets to the Kentucky Derby Tickets 2011
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About Kentucky Derby tickets
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The Kentucky Derby is a stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses, staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race currently covers one and one-quarter miles at Churchill Downs; colts and geldings carry 126 pounds, fillies 121 pounds. The race, known as "The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports" for its approximate time length, is the first leg of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in the United States. It typically draws around 155,000 fans.
The Kentucky Derby was first run at 1.5 miles, the same distance as the Epsom Derby and the Grand Prix de Paris. In 1896, the distance was changed to its current 1.25 miles. On May 17, 1875, in front of an estimated crowd of 10,000 people, a field of 15 three-year-old horses contested the first Derby. Under African-American jockey Oliver Lewis, a colt named Aristides, who was trained by future Hall of Famer, Ansel Williamson, won the inaugural Derby. Later that year, Lewis rode Aristides to a second-place finish in the Belmont Stakes.
The Kentucky Derby is frequently referred to as "The Run for the Roses," because a lush blanket of red roses is awarded to the Kentucky Derby winner each year.
