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

See Examples For:

Kentucky Derby

He didn’t run poorly in any of the races; in fact, of the seven horses who beat him, five were Breeders’ Cup winners and a sixth won the Kentucky Derby and Belmont.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026

Consider the decision from the 6th Circuit, which incorporated Consumers’ Research into its reasoning, and which presides over Kentucky, home of the Kentucky Derby.

From Slate ● Jun. 12, 2026

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

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

But Granville’s presence probably did work against Seabiscuit, simply by virtue of the demands that a Kentucky Derby contender makes on his trainer.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand