Trivia: How to Win at the Kentucky Derby

This Saturday, a crowd of over 150,000 fans will gather in the heart of Kentucky at Churchill Downs to witness this year’s most exciting two minutes in sports. That’s right, release the thoroughbreds and watch them run—one and a quarter miles to be exact—for the finish line in pursuit of the Derby title, and the first jewel in the elusive Triple Crown.

Like any good horse race, the Derby is accompanied by an onslaught of wagering. Whether bettors try their luck while sipping a mint julep at the horse track, or place their bets online, a fair share of money will be blown this day on picking the wrong horse.

So, just what are your chances of winning? There’s really no telling, but if the past teaches us anything, it’s that gambling is, well, a gamble.

However, some would swear the jockey has everything to do with it, and for our money, this explanation sounds pretty good. Especially since one man has led three different horses to titles in the last 10 races. A pretty convincing argument for theories of picking the human over the horse.

Following this sentiment, for this week’s trivia question, tell us who the man is that has us convinced the riders are in control. Which of the jockeys from the list below won three Kentucky Derby titles between 2001 and 2010?  

A. Jose Santos

B. Victor Espinoza

C. Calvin Borel

D. Jorge Chavez

E. Stewart Elliot

For a chance at a bonus prize, accompany your answer with a guess at the winning horse.

To answer the trivia question, submit your answer via the "Comments" section at the bottom of this article. Each participant may submit one entry. To be entered in the prize drawing, you must answer correctly before the end of the live broadcast of the Kentucky Derby, this Saturday, May 7.

One winner, selected in a random drawing, will be announced in next week’s trivia column and awarded a gift card. If your entry is drawn, we will contact you for a mailing address. For more details, please see the . 

We had two trivia questions last week and here are the answers:

Answer to the , where we asked what fact about the female astronaut was false:

A.  This accomplished woman may be the youngest American to ever go into space, and have a hankering for Starbuck’s Green Tea, but she did not dine on a platter of fish tacos prior to launching into space. Although we like to think she at least considered the local favorite as an option.

Answer to the , where we asked who didn’t make the Queen’s final cut:

C. Gwyneth Paltrow and her English husband, Chris Martin, lead man of Coldplay, didn’t have their presence beckoned to Buckingham Palace, or to Westminster Abbey. As one of our readers pointed out, perhaps Paltrow would receive more invitations if she left the singing to her better half.