Great Southern Derby Winners

American Pharoah (2015)

This modern-day Kentucky legend became the first Thoroughbred in 37 years to complete the Triple Crown. Going a step further, he became the first horse in history to complete the “Grand Slam” of American horse racing when he ended his career with a track record–breaking time at the Breeders’ Cup Classic in Lexington, Kentucky.

Silver Charm (1997)

Florida’s Silver Charm also had a successful international career, and now lives at Old Friends Equine, a Thoroughbred retirement facility located in Georgetown, Kentucky.

Sea Hero (1993)

The surprise champ of the 119^th Run for the Roses, Sea Hero gave philanthropist Paul Mellon’s Rokeby Stables in Virginia and trainer MacKenzie Miller the only Derby triumph of their long careers in Thoroughbred racing.

Unbridled (1990)

The Florida-born Unbridled provided owner Frances Genter with the only Kentucky Derby win of a career that spanned more than six decades.

Pleasant Colony (1981)

Owned and bred by Wall Street financier Thomas Mellon Evans, Virginia’s Pleasant Colony won both the Derby and Preakness in 1981 and is now buried at the historic Buckland Farm in Warrenton, Virginia.

Affirmed (1978)

This Sunshine State Thoroughbred’s Triple Crown victory was the last before American Pharoah’s in 2015.

Foolish Pleasure (1975)

Foolish Pleasure was raised in Florida, and his Derby win was just one of the highlights of a career that earned his enshrinement in racing’s Hall of Fame.

Secretariat (1973)

The star of Meadow Stable in Virginia, Secretariat shone as a national sports hero after he became the first Triple Crown winner since 1948. He set a track record time in the Derby that still stands (1:59.40) and a world record in the Belmont Stakes, which he won by an astounding 31 lengths. The Associated Press ranked him 81st among the top 100 athletes of the 20th century—the only four-legged athlete on the list.

Carry Back (1961)

The horse who was at first described as “scrawny” in news reports hailed from Florida and became an immensely popular racing star, winning 21 races and earning more than $1.2 million in his career.

Needles (1956)

Needles’s victory made him the first horse bred in Florida to win the Run for the Roses. Sickly as a youngster, he was named because of the number of veterinary procedures he endured in the early months of his life.

Middleground (1950)

A Texas horse, Middleground was guided to his Derby win by 16-year-old Bill Boland, an apprentice jockey later enshrined in racing’s Hall of Fame.

Citation (1948)

Recognized as the greatest of a record eight Kentucky Derby winners owned by Calumet Farm of Lexington, Kentucky, Citation was one of five winners ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Arcaro. His Derby victory put him on track to become the first Thoroughbred racehorse to amass career earnings of more than $1 million.

Assault (1946)

Bred by and raced for the legendary King Ranch in Kingsville, Texas, Assault is the only horse from the Lone Star State among the twelve Triple Crown champions. He is buried back home at King Ranch.

War Admiral (1937)

A Kentucky son of American racing legend Man o’ War, War Admiral was the fourth winner of America’s Triple Crown and was enshrined in racing’s Hall of Fame in the same year as his archrival, Seabiscuit.

Gallant Fox (1930)

Foaled at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky, Gallant Fox won the Triple Crown in 1930 and went on to become the only Triple Crowner to sire a Triple Crowner—1935’s Omaha.

Reigh Count (1928)

Reigh Count was born in Virginia and became one of a handful of Derby winners to race successfully abroad, taking England’s Coronation Cup in 1929.

Donau (1910)

Although he was bred in Kentucky, Donau raced for Nashville’s William Gerst, the owner of the William Gerst Brewing Co., and the only Tennessean to own a Kentucky Derby champion.

Typhoon II (1897)

The Tennessee-bred Typhoon II had 19 career wins including the 23rd Kentucky Derby.

Kingman (1891)

Born in Tennessee, Kingman holds the distinction of the slowest winning time in the history of the Kentucky Derby: That day’s race might have been called the greatest three minutes in sports when he won with a time of 2:52.25.

Lord Murphy (1879)

The first of three Derby champs bred in Tennessee, Lord Murphy set a track record for 1 ½ miles in the 5th Kentucky Derby (the race is now run at 1 ¼ miles).

Aristides (1875)

Born in the Bluegrass State, Aristides won the first Kentucky Derby on May 17, 1875, at Louisville Jockey Club, the track that would become Churchill Downs.