Col. M. Lewis Clark Jr., inspired by the Epsom Derby (Eng-G1) in England, inaugurated the Kentucky Derby in 1875 at his newly opened Louisville Jockey Club Course (Churchill Downs wouldn't get its current name until 1886). The race was designed to be the centerpiece of Thoroughbred racing in Kentucky, as well as being the major social event of the year in Louisville.

The Kentucky Derby has achieved those goals and more, but it wasn't easy. The race was first run at 1-1/2 miles--the same as the Epsom Derby--but the distance fell out of favor with owners and breeders after several decades, and the distance was changed to its current 1-1/4 miles in 1896. Scandal, mismanagement, and Churchill Downs's status as a "western" track also conspired to diminish the race's stature for most of the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Then along came Col. Matt Winn. A native Louisvillian who witnessed the first Derby as a teenager and never missed the race until he died in 1949, Winn organized a group of businessmen to buy Churchill Downs and save it from closure in 1902. By 1903, he had become general manager and his vision, enthusiasm, and personality helped bring the country's leading three-year-old back to the Derby.

The Derby, which had been raced in mid-May for most of the early 1900s, was moved to the first Saturday in May in 1932 and has remained there, with just a couple exceptions, ever since. Universally regarded as one of the world's leading races, the Kentucky Derby has achieved all Col. Clark envisioned, and beyond.