70 questions spanning the greatest two minutes in sports — history, famous horses, legendary jockeys, the Triple Crown, and the spectacle of Churchill Downs.
The Kentucky Derby has been run every year since 1875 — through two World Wars, the Great Depression, and a pandemic. It lasts roughly two minutes. The build-up lasts all week. This quiz covers all of it.
Pick a category — horses, jockeys, the Triple Crown, the traditions — or play all 70 questions for the full challenge. Every answer comes with a genuine fact that adds something to what you already knew.
Derby Day is May 2, 2026. There's no better time to brush up.
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The Kentucky Derby is America's oldest continuous major sporting event — held at Churchill Downs in Louisville every year since 1875. In that time it has produced some of sport's most indelible moments: Secretariat's impossible 1:59.40, Mine That Bird's 50-1 shock, the three fillies who beat the boys, and 13 horses who completed the Triple Crown. This quiz covers all of it.
Seven categories, 10 questions each. You can play them all in one go, or focus on whatever you know best — the history, the horses, the jockeys, the traditions, or the Triple Crown. Every answer comes with a genuine fact that gives the question a little more context.
From 1875 to today — the founding of Churchill Downs, the race's evolution, its postponements, and Hunter S. Thompson's infamous 1970 dispatch.
Secretariat, Man o' War, American Pharoah, Affirmed, Seattle Slew — the thoroughbreds whose names are permanently written into the sport.
Longest shots, fastest times, unlucky post positions, the three fillies who won, and every record worth knowing.
Eddie Arcaro, Bill Hartack, Ron Turcotte, Calvin Borel, Victor Espinoza — the riders and trainers whose skill made the difference.
Mint juleps, the blanket of roses, extravagant hats, "My Old Kentucky Home," and the spectacle that surrounds two minutes of racing.
Only 13 horses have done it. The Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes — and everything that makes completing all three so brutally hard.
The January 1 universal birthday, lucky post 5, the letters no winner has started with, Hunter S. Thompson's Gonzo journalism origin story, and more.
A quick-reference guide to the numbers and traditions that define America's most famous horse race.