2023 Kentucky Derby | What’s In A Derby Name: Alphabet Edition
By US Racing Team
In the 148 previous runnings of the Kentucky Derby a total of 1,977 3-year-olds have loaded into the Churchill Downs starting gate on the first Saturday in May (and one year in October), with names representing each letter of the alphabet, except X. Horses beginning with “S” lead the way with 19 winners, while there haven’t been any winners at all whose names begin with the letters “Q” or “Y’.
Following are the letters representing Derby winners, number of starters for each letter and the most recent horse to win with that letter.
Kentucky Derby Winners
Letter Wins Str Last Winner, Year
A 12 99 Authentic, 2020
B 13 195 Big Brown, 2008
C 13 153 Country House, 2019
D 7 110 Dust Commander, 1970
E 2 53 Exterminator, 1918
F 7 92 Funny Cide, 2003
G 8 87 Giacomo, 2005
H 5 90 Hill Gail, 1952
I 2 41 I’ll Have Another, 2012
J 5 47 Justify, 2018
K 2 36 Kauai King, 1966
L 7 82 Lil E. Tee, 1992
M 10 126 Mandaloun, 2021
N 3 42 Nyquist, 2016
O 4 46 Orb, 2013
P 7 115 Pleasant Colony, 1981
Q 0 7
R 5 98 Rich Strike, 2022
S 19 211 Super Saver. 2010
T 5 113 Thunder Gulch, 1995
U 1 16 Unbridled, 1990
V 2 36 Venetian Way ,1960
W 7 71 War Emblem, 2002
X 0 0
Y 0 3
Z 1 9 Zev, 1923
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hit Show | Franco | Brad H. Cox | West, Gary and Mary | 30-1 |
| 2 | Verifying | Gaffalione | Brad H. Cox | Poulin, Jonathan, Westerberg, Magnier, Mrs. John, Smith, Derrick and Tabor, Michael B. | 15-1 |
| 3 | Two Phil’s | Loveberry | Larry Rivelli | Patricia’s Hope LLC and Sagan, Phillip | 12-1 |
| 4 | Conficence Game | Graham | J. Keith Desormeaux | Don’t Tell My Wife Stables | 20-1 |
| 5 | Tapit Trice | Saez | Todd A. Pletcher | Whisper Hill Farm, LLC and Gainesway Stable (Antony Beck) | 5-1 |
| 6 | Kinkngbarns | J. Ortiz | Todd A. Pletcher | Spendthrift Farm LLC | 12-1 |
| 7 | Reincartnate | Velazquez | Tim Yakteen | SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Masterson, Robert E., Stonestreet Stables LLC, Schoenfarber, Jay A., Waves Edge Capital LLC and Donovan, Catherine | 50-1 |
| 8 | Mage | Castellano | Gustavo Delgado | OGMA Investments, LLC, Restrepo, Ramiro, Sterling Racing LLC and CMNWLTH | 15-1 |
| SCR | Skinner | Hernandez | John A. Shirreffs | C R K Stable | 20-1 |
| SCR | Practical Move | Vazquez | Tim Yakteen | Amestoy, Jr., Pierre Jean, Amestoy, Leslie A. and Beasley, Roger K. | SCR |
| 9 | Disarm | Rosario | Steven M. Asmussen | Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC | 30/1 |
| 10 | Jace’s Road | Geroux | Brad H. Cox | West Point Thoroughbreds and Albaugh Family Stables LLC | 15-1 |
| 11 | Sun Thunder | Hernandez Jr | Kenneth G. McPeek | R.T Racing Stable and Cypress Creek Equine | 30-1 |
| 12 | Angel Of Empire | Prat | Brad H. Cox | Albaugh Family Stables LLC | 8-1 |
| 13 | Forte | I. Ortiz JR. | Todd A. Pletcher | Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable | 3-1 |
| 14 | Raise Can | Corrales | Ben Colebrook | Warren, Andrew and Warren, Rania | 15-1 |
| 15 | Derma Sotogake | Lemaire | Hidetaka Otonashi | Hiroyuki Asanuma | 10-1 |
| 16 | Rocket Can | Alvarado | William I. Mott | Frank Fletcher Racing Operations, Inc. | 15-1 |
| SCR | Lord Miles | Lopez | Todd A. Pletcher | Vegso Racing Stable | 30-1 |
| 17 | Continuar | Sakai | Yoshito Yahagi | Lion Race Horse Co. Ltd. | 50-1 |
| 18 | Cyclone Mischief | J. Rosario | D. Romans | Albaugh Family Stables LLC and Castleton Lyons. | 30-1 |
| 19 | Mandarin Hero | Kazushi Kimura | Terunobu Fujita | Hiroaki Arai. | 20-1 |
| 20 | King Russell | Rafael Bejarano | Ron Moquett | Jones, Brereton C. and Naber Racing, LLC | 50-1 |
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
