Derby Trial

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The Derby Trial is a race for thoroughbred horses run at Churchill Downs at the end of April, one week before the Kentucky Derby. An ungraded stakes with a purse of $100,000, it's open to three year olds willing to race one mile on the dirt. In earlier years when horses raced much more frequently than they do today, top finishers in the Derby Trial would sometimes compete in the following week's Kentucky Derby. Such was the case of Black Gold who won this race and the Kentucky Derby in 1924, Bimelech who won it in 1940, and Tim Tam who did it in 1958.

In 2006, it was in its 82nd year of running.