2018 Kentucky Derby 2018 Kentucky Derby The 2018 Kentucky Derby (officially, the 2018 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve) was the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby, and took place on Saturday, May 5, 2018, in Louisville, Kentucky. The field was open to 20 horses, with a purse of million. The Derby is held annually in Louisville on the first Saturday in May, at the end of the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. It is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of , and has been run at Churchill Downs racetrack since its inception in 1875. The race was
Alysheba Stakes Breeders' Cup Classic. His victory marked the first time a Derby winner had returned to Churchill to win a stakes since Whirlaway took the 1942 Clark Handicap. He was later honored at the track that fall as he retired as the sports leading money earner, $6,679,242. The stakes received graded status in 2007. The Grade II event is open to horses age three and older and is contested on dirt over a distance of miles (8.5 furlongs). Notes: † new stakes record/new track record Alysheba Stakes The Alysheba Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Churchill Downs