The 2004 Kentucky Derby was the 130th running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 1, 2004, and was won by Smarty Jones, who earned a $5 million bonus.[2] There were 140,054 in attendance.[3]
Smarty Jones was the 4-1 favorite for the race. He came into the Derby with an undefeated record, including wins in the Rebel Stakes and Arkansas Derby, both held at Oaklawn Park. If he won the Kentucky Derby, he stood to earn a $5 million "Centennial Bonus" offered by Oaklawn to celebrate its 100th anniversary.[2]
His leading rivals included Lion Heart (Hollywood Futurity, 2nd in Blue Grass Stakes),[4] Castledale (Santa Anita Derby),[5] The Cliff's Edge (Blue Grass Stakes),[6] Tapit (Wood Memorial),[7] Friends Lake (Florida Dery),[8] and Imperialism (San Rafael, 2nd in Santa Anita Derby).[9]
St. Averil and Wimbledon were originally entered but scratched from the race, meaning there were only 18 starters.[1]
A "deluge" started about two hours before the race, turning a fast track sloppy.[10] Lion Heart, breaking near the rail, ran a quick opening quarter mile of 22.99 seconds to get good position going into the first turn. His jockey Mike Smith then started to slow down the pace, completing the half mile in 46.73 and three-quarters in 1:11.80. Smarty Jones rated a few lengths behind then started his move on the far turn. The two raced heads apart as they entered the stretch, then Smarty Jones started to edge away to win by 2+3⁄4 lengths.[1][11]
Smarty Jones became the first horse to win the Derby while undefeated since Seattle Slew in 1977. It was the first Derby win for his trainer, jockey and owner, all of whom were well known in the Mid Atlantic racing circuit but making their first start in the race.[10] His 77-year-old owner Roy Chapman also bred the colt at Someday Farm in Pennsylvania. Chapman and his wife Patricia had owned and bred many horses over the years, but none had raced at the highest level. "We had a lot of ham-and-eggers," he said, "but sometimes you can cheer just as loud and get just as excited about winning a $10,000 claimer as a stakes. But we never raced at this level until Smarty came along. To have bred him and had him born on your farm, it's something... He is from Philly and I'm very proud of everything he's done."[11]
Track condition: Fast
Times: 1⁄4 mile – 22.99; 1⁄2 mile – 46.73; 3⁄4 mile – 1:11.80; mile – 1:37.35; final – 2:04.06.
Splits for each quarter-mile: (22.99) (23.74) (25.07) (25.55) (26.71)
Source: Equibase Chart[1]
Several horses went on to win Grade I races:
Tapit – leading sire in North America 2014-2016[13]
Birdstone
Pollard's Vision
Lion Heart
Imperialism
Read the Footnotes