Arkansas Derby by the Numbers
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Oaklawn Park, the host of Saturday's $1-million Arkansas Derby. (Photos by Eclipse Sportswire unless noted)
Oaklawn Park’s race meet is nearing the finish line, and that means one thing: it’s time for the Arkansas Derby. This Saturday a field of 12 3-year-olds will compete for their share of 170 Kentucky Derby points and a $1-million purse.
Learn more about Arkansas’ historic Derby prep with the numbers below.
0 - The number of times in the last four years that a trainer other than Bob Baffert or Todd Pletcher has won the race. Baffert has Rebel Stakes winner Cupid and Pletcher has Gettysburg in this year’s race.
1 - The number of Triple Crown winners that have run in the Arkansas Derby. American Pharoah won the race before launching his winning Triple Crown bid last year.
AMERICAN PHAROAH WINNING THE 2015 ARKANSAS DERBY
1 1/8 miles - The distance of the race.
1:46 4/5 – The record time in which Althea completed the race, in 1984.
3 - The number of Arkansas Derby wins by jockey Pat Day and owner Loblolly Stable, records in each category.
4 - The number of times the race has been decided by a nose, most recently when Monitor won in 1967.
4 - Record number of wins by a trainer in the race, held by Todd Pletcher. He could extend his own record if Gettysburg wins this year.
5 - The smallest field to contest an Arkansas Derby, in 1949.
10 ½ lengths - Largest winning margin in the history of the Arkansas Derby, occurring when Curlin won in 2007.
CURLIN
16 - Number of horses that ran in the Arkansas Derby and later won a Triple Crown race, including six editions of the Kentucky Derby.
17 - The biggest field to compete in one Arkansas Derby, on three occasions in the 1970s. In 1960, 19 horses ran but there were so many horses it was split into two different divisions for the same race.
79 - This year marks the 79th running of the race. It was not contested in 1944.
1936 - The year the inaugural Arkansas Derby was run, 22 years after the track first opened in 1904.
$4,110 - The winner’s share of the 1936 Arkansas Derby purse, from a total purse of $5,000.
67,500 - Estimated attendance at the 2015 edition.
$600,000 - The 2016 winner’s share of the $1-million purse.
$15,133,537 - Total amount bet on 2000 Arkansas Derby day, a record. Last year’s betting handle amounted to more than $12-million.