1875 Kentucky Derby

The 1875 Kentucky Derby was the first running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 17, 1875.^[1] The first Kentucky Derby was a 1.5-mile race, and the traditional distance of 1.25 miles was not established until the 1896 Derby.^[2] Thirteen of the fifteen jockeys in the race, including winner Oliver Lewis, were African-American.^[3] Attendance was estimated at 10,000.^[4]

The winner was Aristides, by two lengths. His jockey was Oliver Lewis, his trainer was Ansel Williamson, and his owner was H.P. McGrath. Aristides' half-brother and stablemate Chesapeake also ran in the race. Both Aristides' jockey and trainer were black. Aristides's time of 2 minutes and 37.75 seconds was at the time a world record for the distance.

Full results

Finished	Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time / behind
1st	1	Aristides	Oliver Lewis	Ansel Williamson	H.P. McGrath	2:37.75
2nd		Volcano	H. Williams		George H. Rice
3rd		Verdigris	W. Chambers		C.A. Lewis
4th		Bob Woolley	William Walker		Robinson, Morgan & Co.
5th		Ten Broeck	M. Kelso	Harry Colston	F.B. Harper
6th		Grenoble	J. Carter		Allen Bashford
7th		Bill Bruce	M. Jones		S.J. Salyer
8th		Chesapeake	W. Henry		H.P. McGrath
9th		Searcher	R. Colston		J.B. Rodes
10th		Ascension	W. Lakeland		William Cottrill
11th		Enlister	Halloway		Stringfield and Clay
12th		McCreery	D. Jones		Gen. Abe Buford
13th		Warsaw	Masterson		Stringfield and Clay
14th		Vagabond	J. Houston		A.B. Lewis & Co.
15th		Gold Mine	Stradford		J.A. Grinstead

Payout

The winner received a purse of $2,850. The second-place finisher received $200.^[5]

References

Kentucky Derby

Races	1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Miscellaneous	Churchill Downs Top 4 finishers Festival Museum Road to the Kentucky Derby "My Old Kentucky Home" Kentucky Oaks Broadcasters "The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved"