Kentucky Derby

American  

noun

Trademark.

1. a horse race for three-year-olds, run annually since 1875, on the first Saturday in May, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.: the first race in the Triple Crown.

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Kentucky Derby British  

noun

1. a race for three-year-old horses run annually since 1875 at Louisville, Kentucky

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Kentucky Derby Cultural  

1. The most famous American horse race, held each spring at Churchill Downs racetrack in Kentucky.

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Example Sentences

The Kentucky Derby has come to Louisville on the first Saturday of May for nearly a century.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

They played to the paparazzi, vamping at high-profile events including the Kentucky Derby and the White House Correspondents’ Assn. dinner, and hammed it up in “caught off-guard” moments at the supermarket or over lunch.

From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026

Sunk cost and an invitation to watch the Kentucky Derby at a friend’s apartment kept me going.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

After becoming the first woman to win the Kentucky Derby, her family expects more victories.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026

“Ella, do you remember the, um, third paragraph on page sixty-two—” “‘Secretariat,’” Ella said instantly, “‘favored three to two- in the 1973 Kentucky Derby, finished at standing track record of one fifty-nine and two fifths.’”

From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan