Which three fillies have won the Kentucky Derby?
The Kentucky Derby has been run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky since 1875, although the distance was shortened from a mile and a half to a mile and a quarter in 1896. Traditionally staged on the first Saturday in May, ‘The Run for the Roses’, as the race is known, is open to three-year-old colts, gelding and fillies, with the latter receiving a 5lb allowance from their male counterparts. Along with the Preakness Stakes, run at Pimlico in Baltimore, Maryland two weeks later and the Belmont Stakes run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York three weeks after that, the Kentucky Derby constitutes the American Triple Crown.
Nevertheless, in the better part of a century and a half, just three fillies have won the Kentucky Derby. The first of them was the unbeaten Regret, trained by the legendary James Rowe Sr., in 1915. Unfortunately, owner Harry Payne Whitney neglected to enter her in the Preakness Stakes, so there was no Triple Crown attempt for her. The second was Genuine Risk, trained by LeRoy Jolley, in 1980 and the third was Winning Colors, trained by Darrell Wayne Lukas, in 1988. Both fillies went on to contest both the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes, with Genuine Risk finishing second in both and Winning Colors finishing third in the former, but unplaced in the latter.