February 13, 2024
CHURCHILL DOWNS — By Logan Sykes & Lauren Hubbard
Football has the Super Bowl, baseball has the World Series, tennis gets the Grand Slams, but there’s no bigger day in racing than the Kentucky Derby. This year is particularly special, as the event will be celebrating its 150th anniversary when the race is run on Saturday, May 4, 2024. While you’re settling in to watch the race at your Derby party, here a few fun facts about the Kentucky Derby to get everybody in the festive mood (you know, in case the mint juleps weren’t enough.)
1. Nineteen past winners have had names beginning with the letter “S,” including Secretariat.
2. The amount of food consumed at the Derby is pretty astounding. On average, spectators will eat 142,000 hot dogs, 18,000 barbecue sandwiches, 13,800 pounds of beef, 32,400 jumbo shrimp, 9,000 scallops, 8,000 pounds of potatoes, 30,000 cookies and 300,000 strawberries.
3. Only three horses ran in the 1892 and 1905 Kentucky Derby races.
4. It makes up one third of the coveted Triple Crown along with the Belmont Stakes and the Preakness Stakes.
5. The traditional drink of the Derby is the mint julep, and over 120,000 are said to be consumed at the race each year.
Get the rest of the list from Yahoo! Life here.
