Thoroughbreds are used mainly for racing, but are also bred for other riding disciplines, such as show jumping, combined training, dressage, polo, and fox hunting.

The largest Kentucky Derby crowd was 163,628, who attended the 100th running in 1974. The second largest was 156,106 in 2000.

The Kentucky Derby has been run at two different distances: 

  1 1/2 miles from 1875 to 1895 1 1/4 miles from 1896 to present

The Belmont Stakes predates the Kentucky Derby by 8 years, with the first Derby being run in 1875, and predates the Preakness by 6 years, the first one being run in 1873. The very first winner of the Belmont was actually a filly named Ruthless, and she covered the distance of 1 5/8 miles in a time of 3:05:00.

The average horse weighs about a half a ton, its brain is the size of a baked potato.

. In 1913, Donerail pulled the biggest Kentucky Derby upset of the century. Going off at 91-1 odds, he not just won the race, but set a track record in completing the 1-1/4 mile race in 2:04 4/5. His record time wouldn't last all that long. The following year, Old Rosebud won the Kentucky Derby in 2:03 2/5

Harness racing has its own versions of the Triple Crown. The three races that make up the Trotting Triple Crown are the Yonkers Trot, the Hambletonian, and the Kentucky Futurity. The Pacing Triple Crown is comprised of the Cane Pace, the Little Brown Jug, and Messenger Stakes.

The last horse to win the Triple Crown of Horse Racing (Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes) was Affirmed in 1978. Funny Cide in 2003, Smarty Jones in 2004 and Big Brown in 2008 each had Triple Crown "near misses", winning two of the three races

Whereas the singing of "My Old Kentucky Home" and "Maryland, My Maryland" have been immutable traditions played during the Kentucky Derby and Preakness post parades, respectively, the theme of the Belmont Stakes has undergone several changes. Up until 1996, the post parade song was Sidewalks of New York. In 1997, the theme was changed to New York, New York. More recently a new theme was implemented-- Jay-Z's Empire State of Mind. Due to popular demand however, racing officials have resolved on returning to the more traditional "New York, New York" for this year's running.

In the Kentucky Derby the winningest post position is #2 with 29 winners. Twelve winners won from post #1, and ten winners each from posts #4 and #5. None have won from post #15.

Bill Shoemaker leads all jockeys in Derby mounts, with 26. Eddie Arcaro had 21 rides

Native Dancer almost managed an unblemished career record, losing only the Kentucky Derby by a neck from 22 lifetime races. Dark Star, whose odds stood at just shy of 25-1, stunned the Grey Ghost on the first Saturday of May in 1953.

The Sanford Memorial Stakes started while Man O' War was still circling behind the starting line. Man O' War was closing fast at the end, but still lost by half a length. Man won 9 of 10 races as a 2 year old and 20 of 21 in his lifetime. He defeated Triple Crown winner Sir Barton in a match race.

The Thoroughbred as it is known today was first developed in 17th and 18th century England, when native mares were crossbred with imported Arabian stallions

Did you know that the first Belmont Stakes in 1867 was run in the clockwise direction, in the tradition of English racing? It wasn't until 1921 that the direction was changed to the counter clockwise direction with which we are all familiar in American racing.

Due to being part of a six-horse mutual wagering bet, Canonero II was not the longest-priced Kentucky Derby winner ever. Had people been asked to bet on him alone, he might have broken the record set in 1913. His futures odds were set at 500-1 just a few weeks before he won the 1971 Derby, becoming in the process the first horse raised in a foreign country and the first horse who had raced 1-1/4 mile previously to win.

In the Kentucky Derby there have been 32 odds-on favorites of which 17 won and 11 finished second. Shortest odds on a winning favorite were Citation (coupled with Coaltown) and Count Fleet, who went off at 2-5. Before pari-mutuel wagering was introduced, three winners went off at 1-3: Hindoo, Halma, and Agile. The longest shot to win the Derby was Donerail in 1913, at 91-1.

Most of the time, a horse's ear points where the horse is looking.

Julie Krone was the top money-winning female jockey of the year 13 times in her career.

A horse named Aristides won the very first Kentucky Derby way back in 1875. The race has been run every year since.

The first post parade was seen in the 14th running of the Belmont in 1880. Prior to that the horses were led directly from the paddock to the post.

Horses can lock the muscles in their legs so they can go to sleep standing up and not fall over.

The Belmont Stakes does in fact have an official drink called the Belmont Breeze, though not nearly as well associated with the race as the mint julep is to the Kentucky Derby.

Bill  Shoemaker was inducted in the National Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 1958.

In the Kentucky Derby the track and stakes record for 1 1/4 miles is 1:59.40 set in 1973 by Secretariat. When the race was at 1 1/2 miles, the stakes record was 2:34.50 set by Spokane in 1889. The slowest 1 1/4-mile Derby was run in 1908 by Stone Street in 2:15.20