QUEENS OF THE KENTUCKY DERBY:

A LOOK BACK AT THE THREE FILLIES WHO HAVE WON THE KENTUCKY DERBY.

by ERIC FLOYD

Thoroughbred Horse Racing is often referred to as the “Sport of Kings” and though many races reek of prestige; there is simply no greater prize than the Kentucky Derby. Contested at 1 ¼ miles beneath the famed Twin Spires of Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY on the first Saturday in May, the Kentucky Derby (which is restricted to three-year old horses) has been held annually without interruption since 1875! In conjunction, it’s a little-known fact that over the last 148 years, only three fillies (a female horse aged three-years old or younger) have managed to become “Queens for a Day” by securing the “Sport of Kings’” apex accolade.

Now since “running against the boys” at any level (never mind in the Kentucky Derby) is a dicey proposition at best as top rated three-year old “xx chromosome equines” are typically sent out to contest the Kentucky Oaks on that Friday which precedes the Kentucky Derby. As a result, only forty fillies in all of history (the last being Devil May Care in 2010) have retained an opportunity to “run for the roses”. Concerning this sparse assembly, none except: Regret (1915), Genuine Risk (1980) and Winning Colors (1988) are immortalized within the annals of “turf antiquity”.

Out of the forty fillies who have contested the Kentucky Derby, a total of six broke from the starting gate as the post-time favorite.

Correspondingly, only a pair of these top picks “lived up to the hype” and the first to do so was a chestnut-colored cover girl named Regret. A racer that had turned more than a few heads as a two-year old, Regret actually launched her career by bagging Saratoga Race Course’s three most prestigious juvenile races (i.e., the Saratoga Special Stakes, Sanford Stakes and Hopeful Stakes). One of only four horses in history to sweep the aforementioned gauntlet, Regret subsequently defeated fifteen foes in “gate-to-wire” fashion to acquire the 41st Kentucky Derby in her first start as a three-year old.

What “race-trackers” would classify as a “lukewarm favorite” (but a favorite nonetheless), Regret rewarded her loyal Louisville backers with a $7.30 win mutual (this price is based on a $2 bet). Along with being the first filly to win the “Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports”, the crown jewel of trainer James G. Rowe’s stable was likewise the first undefeated winner of the Kentucky Derby. Buried at owner Harry Payne Whitney’s farm upon her death at age twenty-two, Regret galloped off into eternity having never lost to another female race horse.

Considering her 13-1 post-time odds, it’s clear that the majority of “Horse Racing Nation” didn’t think that Genuine Risk would become the second filly in history to don the Kentucky Derby’s garland of red roses. Stalking comfortably from the saddle in 6th position as the field made their initial run through the lane, Hall of Fame jockey Jacinto Vásquez bided his time before he initiated a dazzling rally that landed him on the lead at the top of the stretch. Inside the final furlong (eighth of a mile), it looked as though Jaklin Klugman would inevitably wear down Genuine Risk, however, Vásquez somehow turned back this foe before he similarly thwarted the late closing Rumbo by a length.

On the heels of her unlikely victory, countless cynics starting spouting venom anent to how Genuine Risk would have been a “bridesmaid” at best had Codex been part of the Derby field. The back story here is that although he’d acutely impressed Thoroughbred Horse Racing’s west coast contingent with dominant victories in both the Santa Anita Derby and Hollywood Derby, Codex (for a variety of reasons) had never been nominated by his connections to run in the Kentucky Derby.

In the end, Horse Racing Nation’s desired “battle of the sexes” wound up transpiring two weeks later in the Preakness Stakes and while Codex ($7.40) got the best of Genuine Risk by almost five lengths in the second jewel of Thoroughbred Horse Racing’s Triple Crown Series, this result was not without controversy. Ultimately drawing level with her main antagonist at the top of the lane, Genuine Risk then literally tasted both a cross body check and the leather tip of (rival jockey) Ángel Cordero’s whip. After lengthy inquisitions by both the stewards and the Maryland Racing Commission, Cordero was cleared of any wrongdoing to the chagrin of those who’d been pining to witness the first ever “Triple Crown bid” by a filly. Going on to gamely compete in all three legs of the Triple Crown Series, Genuine Risk subsequently ran second by two lengths in the Belmont Stakes behind a 53-1 “bomb” named Temperence Hill.

Seeing as how she had already “defeated the boys” in the Santa Anita Derby one month prior, Winning Colors was sent off as the 3-1 cofavorite (Private Terms) in the 114th edition of the Kentucky Derby. Logically inclined to snatch the early lead with his lightning-fast roan filly, jockey Gary Stevens eventually found himself with a seemingly insurmountable three length advantage as he passed the eighth pole (a vertical marker located one furlong from the finish line). Actually, coming home “on fumes” since she had set such torrid early fractions, Winning Colors ($8.40) nevertheless scraped together just enough intestinal fortitude to hold off length.

Though exceedingly dramatic, the Kentucky Derby wasn’t the most exciting race that Winning Colors ever took part in. Facing off against the undefeated Personal Ensign six months later in the slop at Churchill Downs in the 1 1/8 mile Breeders’ Cup Distaff, trainer D. Wayne Lukas’ 16 ½ hand heroine again led by open daylight as she cleared the eighth pole. It wasn’t “déjà vu all over again” though for with the aid of a last second supernatural sprint, Personal Ensign got up in the shadow of the wire by what the Daily Racing Form would later chronicle as “a lip”.

In that most race-trackers (including yours truly) are obsessed with historical hierarchy, I thought it might be fun to conclude this column with a hypothetical 1 ¼ mile match race that featured our trio of Kentucky Derby winning fillies. So, because they both prefer to “be on the engine”, a logical scenario might consist of Winning Colors and Regret swapping blows early with Genuine Risk rating in third position some three lengths behind. The effects of a prolonged front-end duel would manifest as the field rounded the far turn and thus, Genuine Risk would draw even with her two tiring rivals near the eighth pole. Having gotten the “perfect trip”, Genuine Risk conclusively reaches the wire one length ahead of Winning Colors who in turn, holds off Regret by a long neck. All told, it’s an exquisite performance by those three fillies that make up the most select “feminine fraternity” in all of Thoroughbred Horse Racing!