| "Run for the Roses" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Dan Fogelberg | ||||
| from the album The Innocent Age | ||||
| B-side | "The Sand And The Foam" | |||
| Released | 1981 | |||
| Genre | Adult contemporary, Pop | |||
| Length | 4:20 | |||
| Label | Full Moon Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Dan Fogelberg | |||
| Producer | Dan Fogelberg, Marty Lewis | |||
| Dan Fogelberg singles chronology | ||||
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"Run for the Roses" is a song on the album The Innocent Age, written and recorded by singer/songwriter Dan Fogelberg in 1981. Released as a single the following year, it peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100.[1] It has since been used as an unofficial theme for the Kentucky Derby. The song alludes to "the chance of a lifetime, in a lifetime of chance" at once describing the experience of horse racing, and life itself.
The song contains one possible "goof". Its opening lines describe the foal as "Born in the valleys/And raised in the trees/Of western Kentucky/On wobbly knees." The Thoroughbred breeding industry has no real presence in that part of the state; Kentucky's Thoroughbred industry is centered on Lexington, located in the Bluegrass region and most commonly thought of as being in Central Kentucky.
| Chart (1981–1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 18 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 3 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 33 |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 16 |