The 1943 Kentucky Derby, also known as the Street-car Derby, was the 69th running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 1, 1943 and was won by the heavy favorite,

Count Fleet Count Fleet (March 24, 1940 – December 3, 1973) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the sixth winner of the American Triple Crown. He won the Belmont Stakes by a then record margin of twenty-five lengths. After an undefeated ...

Background

Colonel

Matt Winn Martin J. "Matt" Winn (June 30, 1861 – October 6, 1949) was a prominent personality in American thoroughbred horse racing history and president of Churchill Downs racetrack, home to the Kentucky Derby race that he made famous. In 2017, he was ...

lobbied for the Kentucky Derby to be held in 1943 despite many restrictions related to the war effort. Instead, he promised to organize a "street-car Derby", where out-of-state patrons were not allowed to travel to Louisville, and locals had to use the street-car rather than drive to the track. Count Fleet was the winter-book favorite for the Derby after being named the champion two-year-old colt of 1942. In April 1943, he easily won the

Wood Memorial Stakes The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. It is run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. The Wood Memorial ...

but injured himself during the race. That injury was considered the major obstacle to his winning the Derby. His major contenders were considered to be Ocean Wave, winner of the

Blue Grass Stakes The Blue Grass Stakes, currently the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes due to sponsorship by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is a horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. The race is ru ...

, and Blue Swords, second in the Wood Memorial.

Race Description

Despite the travel restrictions, a crowd of about 60,000 turned out for the Derby. A few hours before the race, Ocean Wave was scratched due to an injured leg, leaving Count Fleet as the 2-5 favorite – the shortest odds in Derby history. Count Fleet battled for the early lead with Gold Shower, then opened a two-length lead around the first turn and into the backstretch. On the far turn, Blue Swords closed to within a length before jockey Johnny Longden clucked to Count Fleet, who responded to win handily by three lengths.

Full results

* Scratched: Ocean Wave, Twoses * Winning breeder: Fannie Hertz ( KY)

References

{{Kentucky Derby

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 ...

Kentucky Derby

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

May 1943 sports events