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
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint is an American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old horses, run on a grass course at a distance of 5½ furlongs. It is part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, the "de facto" year-end championship for North American thoroughbred racing. All Breeders' Cups to date have been conducted in the United States, with the exception of the 1996 event in Canada. The race will be run for the first time as a Breeders' Cup Championship race in 2018 during the first day of the Breeders' Cup at Churchill Downs in