By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
There once was a time when horse racing fans celebrated “Derby Day” twice a year in Kentucky.
Each year from 1887 to 1937, the Latonia Derby held at Latonia Race Track near Covington offered purses that attracted top-level 3-year-old thoroughbreds to a feature race that often drew larger crowds than the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville.
Several horses that won the Kentucky Derby’s Run for the Roses also placed first in the Latonia Derby, which originated as the Hindoo Stakes from 1883 to 1886. After the name change, however, the first horse to win the Latonia Derby was Libretto with Kentucky Derby champion Montrose coming in second.
One year later, the 1888 Latonia Derby made headlines when two horses finished first at the same time. Rather than split the $4,720 winning purse, the owners agreed to a runoff and Los Angeles came in ahead of White in their second 1-1/2 mile race of the day.
The growing popularity of the Latonia Derby during the late 1800s provided some stiff competition for the more well established Kentucky Derby, according to an article written by local historian Dr. James Claypool for Kentucky Monthly magazine.
“For several years that followed, the Latonia Derby offered larger purses than its rival Derby in Louisville, and it was not unusual for Kentucky Derby winners to ship and compete in what some considered to be the more prestigious Latonia Derby,” Claypool wrote.
One of the dual derby winners was Ben Brush in 1896. The bay stallion won the first Kentucky Derby run at 1-1/4 miles (as it still is today) and received $4,850. That was also the first time a blanket of roses was placed round the horse’s neck in the winner’s circle at Churchill Downs.
A few weeks later, Ben Brush led the field across the finish line in the 1-1/2 mile Latonia Derby and his owners pocketed a hefty $12,200 purse that accounted for nearly half of their horse’s total winnings that year.
The last three Kentucky Derby winners that also won the Latonia Derby were Lieutenant Gibson (1900), Elwood (1904) and Sir Huon (1906).
Elwood was the first Kentucky Derby champion bred and owned by a woman, who entered the colt in the race without her husband’s knowledge.
Managers at Latonia Race Track started offering a $5,000 bonus if a Kentucky Derby winner also won the Latonia Derby. That attracted Black Gold to the 1924 Latonia Derby, but he ended up placing third behind Chilhowee, who claimed the $25,600 purse.
The first filly to win the Latonia Derby was Handy Mandy on June 25, 1927. She covered the 1-1/2 mile distance in 2:28.60 to break the American record set seven years earlier by the legendary Man O’ War.
Handy Mandy had never won a race in nine previous starts. She was behind two other horses before taking the lead coming down the stretch and crossed the wire ahead of Dolan and War Eagle, one of race’s four entrees that ran in the Kentucky Derby.
A sportswriter covering that Latonia Derby wrote: “Probably no other victor ever was received with such wild acclamation as that which greeted (jockey) Earl Poole and his mount when Handy Mandy was returned to the judge’s stand, not only to receive the plaudits of the crowd, but the honors that go with winning a purse which had a net value of $24,250 to the winner.”
The winning prize for the Latonia Derby remained above $22,000 for the next four years before the Great Depression affected the entire horse racing industry in the 1930s. But the Northern Kentucky stakes race made history one last time in 1936 thanks to a 3-year-old gelding named Rushaway.
On Friday, May 22, Rushaway won the Illinois Derby at a track near Chicago. That night, his owner put the gelding aboard an express train for a 300-mile trip to Northern Kentucky. On Saturday, May 23, Rushaway won the Latonia Derby by a wide margin, an endurance feat that remains unequaled in American horse racing.
The final year of the Latonia Derby was 1937. The race distance had been changed to 1-1/4 miles and the purses had fallen to $12,000, but the Daily Racing Form was reporting in May that Triple Crown contender War Admiral would enter the race.
Unfortunately, War Admiral suffered an injury while winning the Belmont Stakes to complete the Triple Crown sweep and was sidelined for the rest of the racing season by his trainers. Reaping Reward won the final Latonia Derby and received $12,800.
The race track closed one year later. A state historical marker on Winston Avenue pays tribute to its legacy.