1889 Kentucky Derby

The 1889 Kentucky Derby was the 15th running of the Kentucky Derby, won by Spokane. The race took place on May 9, 1889. The winning time of 2:34.50 set a new Derby record for a distance of 1+1/2 mi, and remains the Derby record for the distance (which has not been run since 1894.) This was the first Derby where $2 win wagers were available.

The Derby in 1889 was an exciting one for fans as thousands packed into Churchill Downs (then called the Louisville Jockey Club) to see the field of eight take on the reigning Two-Year-Old Champion Proctor Knott. It was the largest crowd the track had seen since the Ten Broeck–Mollie McCarty match race in 1878, with an estimated 16,000 in attendance.

Ridden by Tennessee native Tom Kiley and sent off at 6-1 odds, Spokane got on the rail and closed in the stretch to the cheers of the crowd, running down the Proctor Knott to win by a nose in the final strides. In a time before photo finish, it was left to the judges who awarded the win to Spokane after deliberation.

He set a new Kentucky Derby record for 1½ miles at 2:34.50, nearly beating the record set by Luke Blackburn in 1880.

Spokane is the only Montana-bred horse to win the Derby, and his win came the same year Montana became a state, when it joined the Union on November 8, 1889.