2017 Kentucky Derby 2017 Kentucky Derby The 2017 Kentucky Derby (in full, the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands, due to sponsorship) was the 143rd running of the Kentucky Derby, and took place on Saturday, May 6, 2017. The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held each year in Louisville, Kentucky, 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 broadcast by NBC with a scheduled
Ashton (horse) horses including Constantia, the dam of the St Leger winner Ebor. Serpent, a son of Eclipse, sired no other horses of consequence. Ashton's dam Miss Haworth was a member of Thoroughbred family 29 and therefore closely related to several notable horses including Rowton and Landscape. Ashton was unraced as a two-year-old and made his racecourse debut on 30 May 1809 at York Racecourse. He started the 6/5 favourite for a sweepstakes over one and three quarter miles and won "very easy" from Lord Fitzwilliam's colt Whitenose. In summer he ran a trial race against the stable's 1808 St Leger winner