2023 Kentucky Derby Day Schedule and Breakdown: Updates

There are a lot of heart-thrashing races in the wait on what is known as Kentucky Derby Day. The event is annually held on the first Saturday in May. It’s the finale of the two week festival. This is the best of the best in horseracing with the eyes of North America fixed in.

Here is today’s race schedule:

Kentucky Derby Day | Saturday, May 6, 2023

The favorite to win the Kentucky Derby, Forte, was a late scratch, now totaling five. There haven’t been five scratches in the prominent race since 1936. This was just another wrench into an already wrench-filled week in the horseracing community.

“It is completely unacceptable”

The death of a slew of horses just since April 27 at Churchill Downs have raised the nation’s eyebrows. There have been seven in total, prompting high profile investigations.

After losing a second horse by a single barn, outrage was immediately sparked amongst the public. It was soon followed by the suspension of the well-known trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. who had a horse named Lord Miles who was expected to race today and had to be scratched from the derby. “While a series of events like this is highly unusual, it is completely unacceptable,” was the response from Churchill Downs spokesperson Darren Rogers.

The Kentucky Derby itself is the highest profile event in all of American horseracing. Last year’s winner, Rich Strike, will not be participating again in the Derby, as the race is limited to three-year-old thoroughbreds. Here is the current list of entrants and scratches:

KENTUCKY DERBY 149

Mage was the winner of this year’s Kentucky Derby. Here is the order of finish:

1. Mage
2. Two Phil’s
3. Angel of Empire
4. Disarm
5. Hit Show
6. Derma Sotogake
7. Tapit Trice
8. Raise Cain
9. Rocket Can
10. Confidence Game
11. Sun Thunder
12. Mandarin Hero
13. Reincarnate
14. Kingsbarns
15. King Russell
16. Verifying
17. Jace’s Road
18. Cyclone Mischief