Maidens in the Kentucky Derby: Ocelli and Friends

Maiden (noun): a horse that has never won a race.

On a typical day at the races, fans might expect to see a maiden race on the card as a field of horses who have yet to visit the winner’s circle compete to get that first victory. But on Kentucky Derby Day at Churchill Downs, going into that 20-horse gate for the country’s biggest race winless, now that is unexpected. 

Once upon a time, maidens had the potential to make some noise in the Kentucky Derby, but since the mid-20th century, that lack of experience has become a challenge.

Once There Were Three

Buchanan could have arrived for the 1884 Kentucky Derby with at least one win under his belt had he not been such a contrary kind of guy. Reported to be willful and difficult, he was known for bolting and swerving, antics which likely cost him a win in one of his prep races for the trip to Louisville. Similar behavior had punctuated his juvenile season, where he started nine times and finished second in each one, that pesky swerving the difference between the win and the place. When he got to Louisville for the 10th edition, he was technically winless, but had shown speed and ability in his previous races, so it was just a matter of time before he would get that first win. With the great Isaac Murphy in the saddle, Buchanan had no trouble with the 12-furlong Derby, taking the lead in the stretch and drawing off to win by two lengths and breaking his maiden on the big stage. He would add the Clark S. next and end his 35-start career at age five with eight wins total.

The second horse to get that first win in the Kentucky Derby winner has more than just that win on his resume: he added the Preakness S. and the Belmont S. to become the first Triple Crown winner. Sir Barton had been winless at age two, his best finish a second in the Futurity at Belmont Park, his juvenile season cut short by an injury and a battle with septicemia. Rather than race the colt in early 1919, his trainer H.G. Bedwell decided to wait, knowing that Sir Barton would benefit from the Derby’s 10-pound allowance for maidens. At the end of Derby Day 1919, the colt was winless no more, winging to a five-length win over a sloppy Churchill Downs racetrack and then adding the Preakness just four days later. He would seal that first Triple Crown almost a month to the day after he broke his maiden in the Run for the Roses of all places. (The maiden allowance went away the following year.)

Brokers Tip came into the 1933 Kentucky Derby with two seconds in his four lifetime starts, inching closer to a win each time. He lingered toward the back of the field early and moved up to fourth around the turn. In the stretch, jockey Don Meade ducked him to the inside and engaged the leader Head Play and his rider Herb Fisher inside that final furlong. The two literally battled through that final furlong, each pulling and pushing at the other to the wire. The margin of victory was a nose as Meade and Brokers Tip managed to come out on top, but barely. The Derby also would be the lone win of his career: an injury in the Preakness S. ended his career with a record of 14-1-2-1.

Now, Ocelli

Since 1933, maidens have not fared as well as they had in earlier decades. Thirteen winless contenders have been a part of the Run for the Roses, with Ocelli making fourteen as he anticipates a turn in Derby 152. The best finish came in 1950, when On The Mark finished eighth behind Middleground. Since then, horses like Great Redeemer, Bodexpress, and Publisher have finished further back, but have gone on to win later in their careers.

Ocelli arrives with four in-the-money finishes in six starts, second by 1 3/4 lengths in a maiden special weight at Fair Grounds his best finish. He earned his way into the Kentucky Derby with a third behind Albus in the Wood Memorial and now has his chance to break his maiden on the biggest stage. That is, if he has the right stuff to be a maiden no more.