1969 Kentucky Derby

95th Kentucky Derby

Kentucky Derby
Grade I stakes race
Location	Churchill Downs
Date	May 3, 1969
Winning horse	Majestic Prince
Jockey	Bill Hartack
Trainer	Johnny Longden
Owner	Frank M. McMahon
Surface	Dirt

The 1969 Kentucky Derby was the 95th running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 3, 1969, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. It was a beautiful day, the dirt tracked was in excellent condition for the race.

Race description

Bang they are off in the race, as Ocean Roar gets out to the lead with Arts and Letters just on his tail with Top Knight and Majestic Prince right behind them. Majestic Prince then made a strong move along the outside trying to make a jump up, while the rest of the back was one to two lengths back from the front of the pack. Ocean Roar was still holding on strong to his lead by four to five lengths with Majestic Prince and Arts and Letters just right behind in the race. With Majestic Prince and Arts and Letters on the inside, Top Knight started his run on the outside, as the three horses were almost neck to neck with each other, but they were still behind Ocean Roar. Ocean Roar then starts to fall back to the rest of the pack. Majestic Prince is on the inside with Arts and Letters and Ocean Roar right there with him, but here comes Dike making a run on the outside behind Ocean Roar. The first pack is making their run down the backstretch of the track, at this point in the race, Traffic Mark starts to make a run on the outside for the front pack, and with Majestic Prince, Arts and Letters, and Dike in the front now that Ocean Roar has began to fall behind with Traffic Mark taking his spot in the running, at the third turn Top Knight is leading by a head with Majestic Prince right on his tail, as Majestic Prince is making his move on the inside with Arts and Letters right the in the middle with Dike on the outside all within a length with the final turn of the race. Arts and Letters pushes through to take the lead at this point with Majestic Prince and Dike right there while Traffic Mark is sticking with the front runner but about a length and a half behind. Coming to an end Majestic Prince and Arts and Letters took a one length lead from the pack, as they were neck and neck going into the final leg of the race. Majestic Prince pushes through that last leg and gets a neck length of gap between him and Arts and Letters, that neck length brought home the win for Majestic Prince with Arts and Letters to his neck just behind, and to the finish Dike was on Majestic Prince's right on the outside and back just a length from Majestic Prince and right on Arts and Letters' tail, and the rest of the pack was lengths behind at the time of the top three finishing.

Full results

Finished	Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time / behind
1st	8	Majestic Prince	Bill Hartack	Johnny Longden	Frank M. McMahon	2:01 4/5
2nd	3	Arts and Letters	Braulio Baeza	J. Elliott Burch	Rokeby Stables	head
3rd	7	Dike	Jorge Velásquez	Lucien Laurin	Claiborne Farm
4th	2	Traffic Mark	Phil Grimm	Ronnie G. Warren	Mr.& Mrs. Robert F. Roberts
5th	1	Top Knight	Manuel Ycaza	Ray Metcalf	Steven B. Wilson Estate
6th	6	Ocean Roar	Robert Stewart	Gordon Mclean	Leo Miller
7th	5	Fleet Allied	Dean Hall	Harold Carl McBride	Mr. & Mrs. V. Kanowsky
8th	4	Rae Jet	Robert Howard	John Thomas Cosdon Jr.	Robert E. Harris

• Winning Breeder: Leslie Combs II; (KY)

References

• "Kentucky Derby". History.com. August 21, 2018. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
• Ehalt, Bob (May 15, 2023). "Majestic Prince: A Racehorse Who Lived Up to His Name". Archived from the original on May 2, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2023.

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