The 2009 Kentucky Derby was the 135th 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 value of the race was $2,177,000 in stakes. The race was sponsored by

Yum! Brands Yum! Brands, Inc. (sometimes called simply Yum!) is an American multinational fast food corporation. It is a spin-off of PepsiCo, after they acquired KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell. PepsiCo divested the brands in 1997, and these consolidated as ...

and hence officially was called ''Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands.'' The race took place on May 2, 2009, and was televised in the United States on the NBC

television network A television broadcaster or television network is a telecommunications network for the distribution of television show, television content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations, pay television providers or ...

. The

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

-based Southern Tourism Society named the Kentucky Derby Festival, which was April 11 to May 1, as one of the top tourist attractions in the Southeast for the first half of 2009. The post time was 6:24 p.m. EDT (10:24 p.m. UTC). The official attendance at

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States that hosts the annual Kentucky Derby. It opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was prominent in Kentucky for many years. The first ...

was 153,563.

Results

The ending of the race came as a shock to those in attendance as Mine That Bird, trained by "Chip" Woolley Jr. and ridden by Calvin Borel, running dead last until the final turn, suddenly moved into the lead in the final

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to any of 660 foot (unit), feet, 220 yards, 40 rod (unit), rods, 10 chain (unit), chains, or a ...

. He took the lead so fast after the final turn that NBC Sports race announcer Tom Durkin didn't notice the gelding and was still heatedly describing the performance of Pioneerof the Nile and Musket Man despite Mine That Bird already opening a three-

length Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...

lead over the pack. Mine That Bird won by 6 lengths for the longest margin of victory in over 60 years. He was the longest-odds horse to win the Derby in over 85 years. * Margins – 6 lengths, nose * Time – 2:02.66 * Track – Sloppy (sealed)

Payout

;The 135th Kentucky Derby Payout Schedule * $1 Exacta: (8-16) Paid $1,037.30 * $1

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 ...

: (8-16-2) Paid $20,750.30 * $1 Superfecta: (8-16-2-7) Paid $278,503.20 Churchill Downs had scheduled their first futures wager pool for the year to begin on February 12, with two subsequent pools opening on March 12 and April 2. Offering 24 betting options (23 individual horses at odds ranging from 10–1 to 50–1, and an "All others" option at 5-2 odds), favorites include Capt. Candyman Can and Old Fashioned at 10–1, followed by Friesan Fire,

Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

, Pioneerof the Nile, Stardom Bound, This Ones for Phil, and Vineyard Haven at 12–1. After the starter draw for the running,

I Want Revenge I Want Revenge (March 26, 2006 – November 24, 2018) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was one of the favorites to win the 2009 Kentucky Derby. Background He was sired by Grade I winner Stephen Got Even, a son of 1992 American Horse ...

was installed as the 3-1 morning line favorite. His scratch later in the morning marked the first time that the morning line favorite was scratched on the day of the race. Friesan Fire, winner of the Louisiana Derby, started the race as the 19-5 (3.80-1) favorite.

The field

Post positions were drawn Thursday, April 30, 2009. I Want Revenge was scratched on the morning of the race because of lameness issues in the colt's left front ankle. In addition, Quality Road, who had been an early favorite, was withdrawn from the race on April 27 because of a quarter crack in his right front hoof.

Notable achievements

* Longest winning margin since 1946 when

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 ...

won by 8 lengths * Calvin Borel is the first jockey since Jerry Bailey in 1993 to win the

Kentucky Oaks The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers at Churchill Downs; the horses carry . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Frida ...

and Kentucky Derby in the same year. Borel won the Kentucky Oaks aboard Rachel Alexandra * Mine That Bird is the first Sovereign Award as champion two-year-old colt (2008) in Canada to win the Kentucky Derby since Sunny's Halo (1983) * Mine That Bird winning odds of 50.60-1 was the second highest in Kentucky Derby history after Donerail (1913) now fourth highest winning odds.

Subsequent Grade I wins

Mine That Bird never won another race, though he did finish second in the Preakness to Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra and third in the Belmont in the same year. Several other horses went on to achieve Grade I success: * General Quarters – Turf Classic Stakes in 2010. * Summer Bird – Belmont Stakes, Travers Stakes, Jockey Club Gold Cup Mr. Hot Stuff never won another race on the flat, but did become a notable steeplechaser. He won the Grade I A. P. Smithwick Memorial Steeplechase Stakes in 2013 and the American Grand National Hurdle Stakes in 2014.

Subsequent breeding careers

The most notable progeny of participants in the 2009 Derby are as follows. Pioneerof the Nile (2nd) * American Pharoah – 2015 Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes, Haskell Invitational, Breeders' Cup Classic * Classic Empire – Breeders' Cup Juvenile, Arkansas Derby. Second in Preakness Stakes * Midnight Storm – Shoemaker Mile

Chief Party Officer

Building on the longstanding tradition of drinking, partying, and general revelry in the infield,

officials announced that they are accepting applications to be the second "Chief Party Officer." According to

Chief Marketing Officer A chief marketing officer (CMO), also called a chief brand officer (CBO), is a C-suite corporate executive responsible for managing marketing activities in an organization. The CMO leads brand management, marketing communications (including adver ...

Dave Tompkins, "The non-stop revelry can test the most die-hard partiers, so a CPO candidate must be able to take the reins and lead our infield nation to new heights of fun and frivolity." In an effort to promote the position, Tim "Stymie" Snyder, the 2008 Chief Party Officer, attended Super Bowl XLIII to personally recruit applicants. The winner was announced March 6, and prizes include use of an RV (billed as a "luxurious boardroom on wheels") for the year. This year's Chief Party Officer is Nick Ferrara.

References

External links

Kentucky Derby 135 official website
{{Kentucky Derby Kentucky Derby races

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 ...

May 2009 sports events in the United States 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 ...