1878 Kentucky Derby

4th Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
Grade I stakes race
	Day Star, 1878 Kentucky Derby winner.
Location	Churchill Downs
Date	May 21, 1878
Winning horse	Day Star
Jockey	Jimmy Carter
Trainer	Lee Paul
Owner	Thomas J. Nichols
Surface	Dirt
	← 1877 1879 →

The 1878 Kentucky Derby was the 4th running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 21, 1878.^[1] Winning horse Day Star set a new Kentucky Derby record with a winning time of 2:37.25.^[2] He also led the pack from start to finish, a first for the Derby. However, the most notable horse was the heavily favored Himyar. He had a bad start at the gate and the rest of the pack was ten lengths ahead before he got started. However, he passed all of them except Day Star, who he trailed by only two lengths at the finish line.^[3] This was the year that pari-mutuel betting was introduced to the Derby from France.^[4]

Full results

Finished	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time / behind
1st	Day Star	Jimmy Carter	Lee Paul	Thomas J. Nichols	2:37.25
2nd	Himyar	P. Robinson		Barak G. Thomas
3rd	Leveler	Robert Swim		R. H. Owens
4th	Solicitor	B. Edwards		L. P. Tarlton
5th	McHenry	W. James		Gen. Abe Buford
6th	Respond	Ramey		Rodes & Carr
7th	Burgundy	L. Jones		J. M. Wooding
8th	Earl of Beaconsfield	Mahoney		A. Strauss & Co.
9th	Charley Bush	J. Miller		Jennings & Hunt

Payout

Post	Horse	Win	Place	Show
	Day Star	$ 30.60^[5]

The winner received a purse of $4,050.
Second place received $200.

References

↑ "Kentucky Derby History, 1878". Archived from the original on 2022-02-21. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
↑ "1878 Kentucky Derby Results Tables" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
↑ Hall, Gregory A. (April 28, 2015). "Kentucky Derby Countdown | Day Star, 1878".{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
↑ "How Kentucky Derby betting traditions have changed over time since 1875". kentuckyderby.com. Archived from the original on 2025-03-23. Retrieved 2025-11-24.
↑ "1878 Kentucky Derby Results Tables" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2010-07-11.

This article related to the Kentucky Derby is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

[1] "Kentucky Derby History, 1878". Archived from the original on 2022-02-21. Retrieved 2010-07-11.

[2] "1878 Kentucky Derby Results Tables" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2010-07-11.

[3] Hall, Gregory A. (April 28, 2015). "Kentucky Derby Countdown | Day Star, 1878".{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)

[4] "How Kentucky Derby betting traditions have changed over time since 1875". kentuckyderby.com. Archived from the original on 2025-03-23. Retrieved 2025-11-24.

[5] "1878 Kentucky Derby Results Tables" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2010-07-11.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

v t e Kentucky Derby
Races	1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
Festival	Great Steamboat Race Thunder Over Louisville
Related	Churchill Downs Top 4 finishers Museum Road to the Kentucky Derby "My Old Kentucky Home" "Run for the Roses" Triple Crown Trophy Mint julep Derby pie Kentucky Oaks Broadcasters "The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved"
Category Kentucky portal