The 2006 Kentucky Derby was the 132nd 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 6, 2006, and was won by Barbaro. There was a crowd of 157,532 in attendance.

Contenders

Viewed as one of the most competitive fields in years, there was no clear cut standout going into the race. Brother Derek, winner of four straight including the

Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is currently run at a distance of miles on the dirt and carries a purse of . It is one of t ...

, was made the morning line favorite at odds of 3:1 but drifted out to nearly 8:1 by post time. Meanwhile,

Sweetnorthernsaint Sweetnorthernsaint is a Thoroughbred race horse. A Florida foal of March 2003, he was a top contender for the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, Triple Crown in 2006. Late in his two-year-old season, he was very hard to handle, so his owners h ...

went from 10:1 on the morning line to the post-time favorite at 11:2 off of his win in the

Illinois Derby The Illinois Derby is a race for Thoroughbred horses for three-year-olds run over a distance of one and one-eighth miles (9 furlongs) on the dirt at Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney, Illinois, just west of Chicago in early April each year. The eve ...

. At 6:1, Barbaro was the second favorite based on his undefeated record including the

Florida Derby The Florida Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Since 2005, it has been run five weeks before the Kentucky Derby, which is held on the first Saturd ...

. He was attempting to become the first horse since Needles in 1950 to win the Derby off of a five-week layoff. Other leading contenders included Lawyer Ron (

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 ...

), Showing Up ( Lexington Stakes) and Sinister Minister (

Blue Grass Stakes The Blue Grass Stakes, currently the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes due to sponsorship by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is a horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. The race is ru ...

Results

Keyed Entry went to the early lead challenged by Sinister Minister, and set a fast early pace. Barbaro stumbled at the start and bumped with Bob and John, then was carried three wide into the first turn. Still racing wide, he started to make up ground on the far turn and hit the lead with a quarter of a mile remaining. He continued to open up ground and won by lengths over Bluegrass Cat, with Steppenwolfer closing late for third. Jazil and Brother Derek deadheated for fourth. It was the first Derby winner for all of Barbaro's connections: trainer Michael Matz, jockey Edgar Prado and owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson of Lael Stable. Barbaro's margin of victory was the longest since

Assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

in 1946. He became just the sixth horse to win the Derby while still undefeated. Track condition: Fast Times: mile – 22.63; mile – 46.07; mile – 1:10.88; mile – 1:37.02; final – 2:01.36.
Splits for each quarter-mile: (22.63) (23.44) (24.81) (26.14) (24.34) Source: Equibase Chart

Payout

;The 132nd 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 ...

: (8-13) Paid $587.00 * $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 ...

: (8-13-2) Paid $11,418.40 * $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 ...

: (8-13-2-1) Paid $84,860.40 * $2

: (8-13-2-18) Paid $59,839.00 * 1 Jazil & 18 Brother Derek was a Dead Heat.

Subsequent racing careers

Barbaro fractured a leg in his next start, the Preakness Stakes, and died after a lengthy battle to save him. His ashes are buried at Churchill Downs below a bronze statue of him winning the Derby. Several other horses from the field went on to record Grade I wins: * Jazil – Belmont Stakes * Bluegrass Cat – Haskell Invitational * Showing Up – Secretariat Stakes, Hollywood Derby * Lawyer Ron – 2007 Whitney Handicap, Woodward Stakes * Flashy Bull – 2007 Stephen Foster Handicap None of the participants in the 2006 Derby went on to become major sires. The most consistent was Bluegrass Cat, who ranked 35th on the 2016 general sire listing for example despite not having a Grade I winner. The best sire from the crop of 2003 proved to be Bernardini, who bypassed the Derby.

References

{{Kentucky Derby

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

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 ...

2000s in Louisville, Kentucky

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 ...

Contenders

Results

Payout

Subsequent racing careers

See also

References