Horse racing in the United States Horses and inspired their name. With the exception of the longer, distance contests, Quarter Horse races are run flat out, with the horses running at top speed for the duration. There is less jockeying for position, as turns are rare, and many races end with several contestants grouped together at the wire. The track surface is similar to that of Thoroughbred racing and usually consists of dirt. The traditional high point of US horse racing is the Kentucky Derby, held on the first Saturday of May at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Together, the Derby; the Preakness Stakes, held two
Canadian Derby Canadian Derby The Canadian Derby is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Northlands Park in Edmonton, Alberta. A Grade III event held near the end of August, it is open to three-year-old horses and is raced on dirt over a distance of one and three-eights miles (11 furlongs). It was contested at 1 mile from 1930 to 1933, and at miles from 1934 through 1956. The race was the creation of future Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee R. James Speers and first run in 1930 at his Polo Park Racetrack in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Inaugurated as the