Kentucky Derby Betting

The Kentucky Derby may no longer be the biggest event of the year for serious horse racing enthusiasts – it’s been surpassed in that regard by the Breeders’ Cup – it remains the most significant and popular horse race for casual fans and the mainstream public.

Known as ‘The Run for the Roses’, the Derby is held annually on the first weekend in May at Louisville’s venerable Churchill Downs beneath the iconic “Twin Spires”. It is also a big social event in the region and the live attendance at the Kentucky Derby surpasses that of any other major stakes race in the United States. The Derby is one of the oldest major races in the sport and is the first leg of horse racing’s ‘Triple Crown’.

The 137th running of the Kentucky Derby 2011 will take place this Saturday, and you probably don't know anything about any of the horses. We are here to help. Today's contender is Nehro.

The Kentucky Derby dates back to 1875 and was the brainchild of Col. Meriwether Lewis Clark, who was the grandson of William Clark of ‘Lewis and Clark’ fame. Clark traveled to Europe and was particularly impressed by England’s Epsom Derby horse race.



Larry Collmus knew exactly where he watched last year’s Kentucky Derby from. The Dockside bar in Sea Bright, he said. “A bunch of friends of mine have something they call ‘a taste of Sea Bright,’ and it happened to be on Derby day, so that’s where I was.”

The Monmouth Beach resident will have a considerably different view of America’s most famous horse race Saturday.


Upon returning to Kentucky, he founded the Louisville Jockey Club with the goal of creating a world class horse racing facility in Central Kentucky. The land for the track was donated by Clark’s relatives, John and Henry Churchill, and the horse racing facility soon became known as ‘Churchill Downs’ although it wouldn’t be officially incorporated under that name until the 1930′s.