Seabiscuit, owned by Charles S. Howard, succumbed to a heart attack at Ridgewood Ranch in Willits, Calif. He was 14. ~
1947
Two-year-old
Equipoise gave owner
C.V. Whitney his first stakes victory when he captured the Keene Memorial Stakes at Belmont Park at odds of 3-5. ~
1930
James Rowe Sr., then age 24, became the youngest trainer to saddle a Kentucky Derby winner after Hindoo took the 7th Derby for his owners, brothers Phil and Mike Dwyer, both notorious gamblers. ~
1881
Rhine Maiden, in winning the Preakness Stakes, produced the only Kentucky Derby-Preakness wins by fillies in the same year. The 1915 Derby was won by
Regret, who did not compete in the Preakness. ~
1915
Sixteen-year-old
Steve Cauthen rode his first winner, Thomas Bischoff-trained Red Pipe, in the eighth race at River Downs. By the end of his first year of apprenticeship, Cauthen had won 240 races from 1,170 mounts and $1.2 million in purses. ~
1976
America's oldest continuously held sporting event, the Kentucky Derby, was first run. The race was won by Aristides, who was ridden and trained by African Americans Oliver Lewis and Ansel Williamson, respectively. The day marked the opening of Churchill Downs; an estimated 10,000 spectators witnessed the first Derby. ~1875