The Kentucky Derby is famously known as the “Fastest Two Minutes in Sports.”
After days, weeks and months of anticipation, including a two-week festival in Louisville built around the event, the race is over relatively quickly, with tens of thousands of big-hatted, mint–julep-soaked fans cheering frantically as nearly two dozen horses sprint around a 1¼ mile dirt track.
Sometimes, though, it doesn’t even take two full minutes.
On Saturday, the 151st edition of the Kentucky Derby will take place at Churchill Downs. A field of 20 competitors will square off for immortality in the sport’s most iconic event, with a garland of roses, a chance at a Triple Crown and millions of dollars on the line (along with some, ahem, nice post-retirement benefits for the winning horse).
A horse’s attempts at history go beyond the other equines galloping around it on the first Saturday in May. With a fast enough time, a horse can cement its place among some of the most decorated figures in horse-racing history.
In advance of Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, here’s a look at the fastest times ever at the Derby:
Fastest time in Kentucky Derby history
The fastest time in Kentucky Derby history belongs to perhaps the sport’s most celebrated horse.
Secretariat completed the Kentucky Derby faster than any horse in history, finishing in first place in 1973 with a time of 1:59.40, beating second-place Sham by two-and-a-half lengths.
Kentucky Derby fastest times
Here’s a look at some of the other fastest times in Derby history:
1973, Secretariat: 1:59.40
2001, Monarchos: 1:59.97
1964, Northern Dancer: 2:00.00
1985, Spend A Buck: 2:00.20
1962, Decidedly: 2:00.40
1967, Proud Clarion: 2:00.60
2020, Authentic: 2:00.61
1996, Grindstone: 2:01.06
Kentucky Derby favorite 2025
Journalism is the favorite among the 20 horses in the 2025 Kentucky Derby field, with 7-2 odds (as of Thursday evening). On April 5, Journalism won the Santa Anita Derby, one of the major races in the leadup to the Kentucky Derby.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kentucky Derby fastest times: Who trails Secretariat on leaderboard?
