The 2004 Kentucky Derby was the 130th running of the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

. The race took place on May 1, 2004, and was won by

Smarty Jones Smarty Jones (February 28, 2001) is a champion Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and came second in the Belmont Stakes. Background Born at Fairthorne Farm in Chester County, Pennsylvania, the horse was ...

, who earned a $5 million bonus. There were 140,054 in attendance.

Contenders

was the 4-1 favorite for the race. He came into the Derby with an undefeated record, including wins in the

Rebel Stakes The Rebel Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses held over a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles run on dirt each February at Oaklawn Park Race Track in Hot Springs, Arkansas. As of 2024, it offers a p ...

and

Arkansas Derby The Arkansas Derby is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is currently a Grade I race run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. In 2004, t ...

, both held at

Oaklawn Park Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, formerly Oaklawn Park Race Track, is an American thoroughbred racetrack and casino in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is the home to "The Racing Festival of the South", a four-day series of races that concludes with the ...

. If he won the Kentucky Derby, he stood to earn a $5 million "Centennial Bonus" offered by Oaklawn to celebrate its 100th anniversary. His leading rivals included Lion Heart (Hollywood Futurity, 2nd in Blue Grass Stakes), Castledale (Santa Anita Derby), The Cliff's Edge (Blue Grass Stakes),

Tapit Tapit (foaled February 27, 2001, in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won three of his six races, including the Wood Memorial Stakes, then a Graded stakes race, Grade I event. He was an immediate success after retiring to stud, ...

(Wood Memorial), Friends Lake (Florida Dery), and Imperialism (San Rafael, 2nd in Santa Anita Derby). St. Averil and Wimbledon were originally entered but scratched from the race, meaning there were only 18 starters.

Full results

A "deluge" started about two hours before the race, turning a fast track sloppy. Lion Heart, breaking near the rail, ran a quick opening quarter mile of 22.99 seconds to get good position going into the first turn. His jockey Mike Smith then started to slow down the pace, completing the half mile in 46.73 and three-quarters in 1:11.80. Smarty Jones rated a few lengths behind then started his move on the far turn. The two raced heads apart as they entered the stretch, then Smarty Jones started to edge away to win by lengths. Smarty Jones became the first horse to win the Derby while undefeated since Seattle Slew in 1977. It was the first Derby win for his trainer, jockey and owner, all of whom were well known in the Mid Atlantic racing circuit but making their first start in the race. His 77-year-old owner Roy Chapman also bred the colt at Someday Farm in Pennsylvania. Chapman and his wife Patricia had owned and bred many horses over the years, but none had raced at the highest level. "We had a lot of ham-and-eggers," he said, "but sometimes you can cheer just as loud and get just as excited about winning a $10,000 claimer as a stakes. But we never raced at this level until Smarty came along. To have bred him and had him born on your farm, it's something... He is from Philly and I'm very proud of everything he's done." * Smarty Jones earnings included a $5 million racing series bonus Track condition: Fast Times: mile – 22.99; mile – 46.73; mile – 1:11.80; mile – 1:37.35; final – 2:04.06.
Splits for each quarter-mile: (22.99) (23.74) (25.07) (25.55) (26.71) Source: Equibase Chart

Payout

;The 130th Kentucky Derby Payout Schedule * $2

Exacta Parimutuel betting, or pool betting, is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the ''house-take'', or ''vigorish'', are deducted, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among a ...

: (15-3) Paid $65.20 * $2

Trifecta Trifecta A trifecta is a parimutuel bet placed on a horse race in which the bettor must predict which horses will finish first, second, and third, in the exact order. Known as a trifecta in the US and Australia, this is known as a tricast in ...

: (15-3-10) Paid $987.60 * $2

Superfecta {{Wiktionary The superfecta is a type of wager in the United States and Canada parimutuel betting in which the bettor, in order to win, must pick the first four finishers of a race in the correct sequence. This is even more unlikely than a success ...

: (15-3-10-1) Paid $41,380.20

Subsequent racing careers

Several horses went on to win Grade I races: * Smarty Jones – Preakness Stakes * Lion Heart – Haskell Invitational * Birdstone – Belmont Stakes, Travers Stakes * Borrego – 2005 Pacific Classic, Jockey Club Gold Cup * Castledale – 2005 Shoemaker Mile

Subsequent breeding careers

Sires of Classic winners

Tapit – leading sire in North America 2014-2016 * Tonalist – 2014 Belmont Stakes, Jockey Club Gold Cup, 2015 Cigar Mile, Jockey Club Gold Cup * Creator – 2016 Belmont Stakes, Arkansas Derby * Tapwrit – 2017 Belmont Stakes * Untapable – 2014 Kentucky Oaks, Mother Goose Stakes, Cotillion, Breeders' Cup Distaff, 2015 Apple Blossom * Frosted – 2015 Wood Memorial, 2016 Metropolitan Handicap, Whitney Stakes Birdstone *

Mine That Bird Mine That Bird (foaled May 10, 2006) is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2009 Kentucky Derby at 50-1 odds and came second in the Preakness Stakes and third in the Belmont Stakes. He had earnings of $2,228,637 and was inducte ...

– 2009 Kentucky Derby * Summer Bird – 2009 Belmont Stakes, Travers Stakes, Jockey Club Gold Cup * Noble Bird – 2015 Stephen Foster Handicap Pollard's Vision * Blind Luck – 2010 Kentucky Oaks, Las Virgenes Stakes, Alabama Stakes, 2009 Oak Leaf Stakes, Hollywood Starlet, 2011 Vanity Handicap

Sires of Grade I winners

Lion Heart * Dangerous Midge – 2010 Breeders' Cup Turf * Lion of David – 2010 Arkansas Derby * Bradester – 2016 Stephen Foster Handicap * Tom's Tribute – 2014 Eddie Read Stakes Imperialism * Imperial Hint – 2017 and 2018 Alfred G. Vandebilt, Vosburgh Read the Footnotes * Rightly So – 2010 Ballerina Stakes Sources
American Classic PedigreesEquibaseBlood-Horse Stallion RegisterRacing Post
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References

{{Kentucky Derby

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

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Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...