Kentucky Derby Full Winners List: Complete History of Winning Horses & Triple Crown Winners

Mystik Dan, right, wins the Kentucky Derby in a photo finish.
Mystik Dan, right, wins the Kentucky Derby in a photo finish. / Michael Clevenger and Christopher Granger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The 151th running of the Kentucky Derby is set for May 3, 2025 at Churchill Downs in Kentucky.

The Derby has been run since 1875 and has produced 150 winners. Another horse will be added to the list this year and it may come from one of the three favorites. Entering this year's race, Journalism is a 3-1 favorite, while Sovereignty is currently at 5-1, and Sandman is at 6-1.

The 151st winner of the Kentucky Derby will come from the group of 21 entrants in 2025. What follows is a look at the entire list of winners in the history of the race.

Kentucky Derby Winners History

In 2024, Mystik Dan became the 150th winner in the history of the race. The full list of winners and winning jockeys by year is below.

YEAR

WINNER

JOCKEY

1875

Aristides

Oliver Lewis

1876

Vagrant

Robert Swim

1877

Baden-Baden

Billy Walker

1878

Day Star

Jimmy Carter

1879

Lord Murphy

Charlie Shauer

1880

Fonso

George Lewis

1881

Hindoo

Jim McLaughlin

1882

Apollo

Babe Hurd

1883

Leonatus

William Donohue

1884

Buchanan

Isaac Murphy

1885

Joe Cotton

Erskine Henderson

1886

Ben Ali

Paul Duffy

1887

Montrose

Isaac Lewis

1888

Macbeth II

George Covington

1889

Spokane

Thomas Kiley

1890

Riley

Isaac Murphy

1891

Kingman

Isaac Murphy

1892

Azra

Alonzo Clayton

1893

Lookout

Eddie Kunze

1894

Chant

Frank Goodale

1895

Halma

James Perkins

1896

Ben Brush

Willie Simms

1897

Typhoon II

Buttons Garner

1898

Plaudit

Willie Simms

1899

Manuel

Fred Taral

1900

Lieut. Gibson

Jimmy Boland

1901

His Eminence

Jimmy Winkfield

1902

Alan-a-Dale

Jimmy Winkfield

1903

Judge Himes

Harold Booker

1904

Elwood

Shorty Prior

1905

Agile

Jack Martin

1906

Sir Huon

Roscoe Troxler

1907

Pink Star

Andy Minder

1908

Stone Street

Arthur Pickens

1909

Wintergreen

Vincent Powers

1910

Donau

Ferderick Herbert

1911

Meridian

George Archibald

1912

Worth

Carroll Shilling

1913

Donerail

Roscoe Goose

1914

Old Rosebud

John McCabe

1915

Regret

Joe Notter

1916

George Smith

Johnny Loftus

1917

Omar Khayyam

Charles Borel

1918

Exterminator

Willie Knapp

1919

Sir Barton

Johnny Loftus

1920

Paul Jones

Ted Rice

1921

Behave Yourself

Charles Thompson

1922

Morvich

Albert Johnson

1923

Zev

Earl Sande

1924

Black Gold

John Mooney

1925

Flying Ebony

Earl Sande

1926

Bubbling Over

Albert Johnson

1927

Whiskery

Linus McAtee

1928

Reigh Count

Chick Lang

1929

Clyde Van Dusen

Linus McAtee

1930

Gallant Fox

Earl Sande

1931

Twenty Grand

Charley Kurtsinger

1932

Burgoo King

Eugene James

1933

Brokers Tip

Don Meade

1934

Cavalcade

Mack Garner

1935

Omaha

Willie Saunders

1936

Bold Venture

Ira Hanford

1937

War Admiral

Charley Kurtsinger

1938

Lawrin

Eddie Arcaro

1939

Johnstown

James Stout

1940

Gallahadion

Carroll Bierman

1941

Whirlaway

Eddie Arcaro

1942

Shut Out

Wayne Wright

1943

Count Fleet

Johnny Longden

1944

Pensive

Conn McCreary

1945

Hoop Jr.

Eddie Arcaro

1946

Assault

Warren Mehrtens

1947

Jet Pilot

Eric Guerin

1948

Citation

Eddie Arcaro

1949

Ponder

Steve Brooks

1950

Middleground

William Boland

1951

Count Turf

Conn McCreary

1952

Hill Gail

Eddie Arcaro

1953

Dark Star

Henry Moreno

1954

Determine

Raymond York

1955

Swaps

Bill Shoemaker

1956

Needles

David Erb

1957

Iron Liege

Bill Hartack

1958

Tim Tam

Ismael Valenzuela

1959

Tomy Lee

Bill Shoemaker

1960

Venetian Way

Bill Hartack

1961

Carry Back

Johnny Sellers

1962

Decidedly

Bill Hartack

1963

Chateaugay

Braulio Baeza

1964

Northern Dancer

Bill Hartack

1965

Lucky Debonair

Bill Shoemaker

1966

Kauau King

Don Brumfield

1967

Proud Clarion

Bobby Ussery

1968

Forward Pass

Ismael Valenzuela

1969

Majestic Prince

Bill Hartack

1970

Dust Commander

Mike Manganello

1971

Canonero II

Gustavo Avila

1972

Riva Ridge

Ron Turcotte

1973

Secretariat

Ron Turcotte

1974

Cannonade

Angel Cordero Jr.

1975

Foolish Pleasure

Jacinto Vasquez

1976

Bold Forbes

Angel Cordero Jr.

1977

Seattle Slew

Jean Cruguet

1978

Affirmed

Steve Cauthen

1979

Spectacular Bid

Ronnie Franklin

1980

Genuine Risk

Jacinto Vasquez

1981

Pleasant Colony

Jorge Velasquez

1982

Gato Del Sol

Eddie Delahoussaye

1983

Sunny's Halo

Eddie Delahoussaye

1984

Swale

Laffit Pincay Jr.

1985

Spend A Buck

Angel Cordero Jr.

1986

Ferdinand

Bill Shoemaker

1987

Alysheba

Chris McCarron

1988

Winning Colors

Gary Stevens

1989

Sunday Silence

Pat Valenzuela

1990

Unbridled

Craig Perret

1991

Strike the Gold

Chris Antley

1992

Lil E. Tee

Pat Day

1993

Sea Hero

Jerry Bailey

1994

Go for Gin

Chris McCarron

1995

Thunder Gulch

Gary Stevens

1996

Grindstone

Jerry Bailey

1997

Silver Charm

Gary Stevens

1998

Real Quiet

Kent Desormeaux

1999

Charismatic

Chris Antley

2000

Fusaichi Pegasus

Kent Desormeaux

2001

Monarchos

Jorge Chavez

2002

War Emblem

Victor Espinoza

2003

Funny Cide

Jose Santos

2004

Smarty Jones

Stewart Elliott

2005

Giacomo

Mike Smith

2006

Barbaro

Edgar Prado

2007

Street Sense

Calvin Borel

2008

Big Brown

Kent Desormeaux

2009

Mine That Bird

Calvin Borel

2010

Super Saver

Calvin Borel

2011

Animal Kingdom

John Velazquez

2012

I'll Have Another

Mario Gutierrez

2013

Orb

Joel Rosario

2014

California Chrome

Victor Espinoza

2015

American Pharoah

Victor Espinoza

2016

Nyquist

Mario Gutierrez

2017

Always Dreaming

John Velazquez

2018

Justify

Mike Smith

2019

Country House

Flavien Prat

2020

Authentic

John Velazquez

2021

Mandaloun*

Florent Geroux

2022

Rich Strike

Sonny Leon

2023

Mage

Javier Castellano

2024

Mystik Dan

Brian Hernandez Jr.

*Medina Spirit crossed the line first in 2021 but was disqualified after testing positive for a banned substance. Mandaloun was elevated to winner.

We'll find out who gets added to this illustrious list on May 3.

Triple Crown Winners

Thirteen winners of the Kentucky Derby have gone on to win the Triple Crown, by emerging victorious in the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes.

The first Triple Crown winner was Sir Barton in 1919, as jockey Johnny Loftus guided him to victories in all three races.

There have been two major droughts without a Triple Crown winner, including a 25-year stretch from 1948 through 1973. That year, Secretariat became the first horse since Citation to accomplish the feat. Then a much longer 37-year stretch from 1978 until American Pharoah completed the Triple Crown in 2015.

Below is the list of every Triple Crown winner in history.

YEAR

WINNER

JOCKEY

1919

Sir Barton

Johnny Loftus

1930

Gallant Fox

Earl Sande

1935

Omaha

Willie "Smokey" Sanders

1937

War Admiral

Charles Kurtsinger

1941

Whirlaway

Eddie Arcaro

1943

Count Fleet

Johnny Longden

1946

Assault

Warren Mehrtens

1948

Citation

Eddie Arcaro

1973

Secretariat

Ron Turcotte

1977

Seattle Slew

Jean Cruguet

1978

Affirmed

Steve Cauthen

2015

American Pharoah

Victor Espinoza

2018

Justify

Mike Smith

While 13 horses have won the Triple Crown, 52 have won the first two legs, only to fail to win the Belmont Stakes.


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Ryan Phillips
RYAN PHILLIPS

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.