196 days until Kentucky Derby 2027

Each weekday until Kentucky Derby 2027

Counting the days after today, up to and including Saturday, May 1, 2027. Useful for counting school days, work shifts or a weekly class before Kentucky Derby.

About Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is America's best-known horse race, run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on the first Saturday in May. It is a 1¼-mile race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds, so each horse gets only one chance to run it. The Derby is the first leg of the Triple Crown, followed by the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. Because the race itself lasts about two minutes, it is often called the most exciting two minutes in sports, though Derby Day fills an entire afternoon with earlier races on the program.

The first Derby was run on May 17, 1875, and was won by a horse named Aristides. Churchill Downs bills it as America's longest continually running sporting event, and the 150th running took place in 2024. The race has been postponed only twice: to June in 1945, during World War II, and to September 5 in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. In normal years the date is fixed by the first-Saturday rule, so it always falls between May 1 and May 7.

Traditions are a big part of the day. The winner receives a garland of more than 550 red roses, which gave the race its nickname, the Run for the Roses. Fans sip mint juleps, a drink of bourbon, mint and sugar syrup over crushed ice, and many wear elaborate hats. As the horses walk onto the track for the post parade, the crowd sings "My Old Kentucky Home." The day before, Churchill Downs runs the Kentucky Oaks, a major race for three-year-old fillies, and many fans attend both days.

How we check dates and facts: see our sources.

Kentucky Derby by year