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Kentucky Derby

American

noun

Trademark.

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.

Kentucky Derby British

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Kentucky Derby Cultural

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

The moment Cherie DeVaux became the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby.

From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2026

Earlier in the meet, a much-anticipated meeting between Kentucky Derby winner Lawrin and Preakness winner Dauber had to be canceled at the last moment when Dauber suffered a minor injury.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023