The 2004 Kentucky Derby was the 130th running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 1, 2004, and was won by Smarty Jones, who earned a $5 million bonus. There were 140,054 in attendance.
Contenders Smarty Jones was the 4-1 favorite for the race. He came into the Derby with an undefeated record, including wins in the Rebel Stakes and Arkansas Derby, both held at Oaklawn Park. If he won the Kentucky Derby, he stood to earn a $5 million "Centennial Bonus" offered by Oaklawn to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
His leading rivals included Lion Heart (Hollywood Futurity, 2nd in Blue Grass Stakes), Castledale (Santa Anita Derby), The Cliff's Edge (Blue Grass Stakes), Tapit (Wood Memorial), Friends Lake (Florida Dery), and Imperialism (San Rafael, 2nd in Santa Anita Derby).
St. Averil and Wimbledon were originally entered but scratched from the race, meaning there were only 18 starters.
Full results A "deluge" started about two hours before the race, turning a fast track sloppy. Lion Heart, breaking near the rail, ran a quick opening quarter mile of 22.99 seconds to get good position going into the first turn. His jockey Mike Smith then started to slow down the pace, completing the half mile in 46.73 and three-quarters in 1:11.80. Smarty Jones rated a few lengths behind then started his move on the far turn. The two raced heads apart as they entered the stretch, then Smarty Jones started to edge away to win by lengths.
Smarty Jones became the first horse to win the Derby while undefeated since Seattle Slew in 1977. It was the first Derby win for his trainer, jockey and owner, all of whom were well known in the Mid Atlantic racing circuit but making their first start in the race. His 77-year-old owner Roy Chapman also bred the colt at Someday Farm in Pennsylvania. Chapman and his wife Patricia had owned and bred many horses over the years, but none had raced at the highest level. "We had a lot of ham-and-eggers," he said, "but sometimes you can cheer just as loud and get just as excited about winning a $10,000 claimer as a stakes. But we never raced at this level until Smarty came along. To have bred him and had him born on your farm, it's something... He is from Philly and I'm very proud of everything he's done."
Finish Programnumber Horse Jockey TrainerOddsMarginEarnings 1 15 Smarty Jones Stewart Elliott John Servis 4.10 $5,884,800* 2 3 Lion Heart Mike E. Smith Patrick Biancone5.40 lengths$170,000 3 10 Imperialism Kent Desormeaux Kristin Mulhall 10.90 6 lengths$85,000 4 1 Limehouse José A. Santos Todd Pletcher 41.70 8 lengths$45,000 5 11 The Cliff's Edge Shane Sellers Nicholas Zito 8.20 lengths 6 4 Action This Day David R. Flores Richard Mandella 43.40 lengths 7 14 Read the Footnotes Robby Albarado Richard Violette Jr. 22.50 lengths 8 13 Birdstone Edgar Prado Nicholas Zito 21.20 lengths 9 18 Tapit Ramon A. Dominguez Michael Dickinson 6.40 lengths 10 12 Borrego Victor Espinoza Beau Greely 14.20 lengths 11 2 Song of the Sword Norberto Arroyo Jr. Jennifer Pedersen 55.90 lengths 12 8 Master David Alex Solis Robert Frankel 10.60 lengths 13 19 Pro Prado John McKee Robert Holthus 53.5020 lengths 14 16 Castledale Jose Valdivia Jr. Jeff Mullins 21.90 lengths 15 6 Friends Lake Richard Migliore John C. Kimmel 18.50 lengths 16 7 Minister Eric Pat Day Richard Mandella 22.50 lengths 17 17 Pollard's Vision John Velazquez Todd Pletcher24.00 lengths DNF 20 Quintons Gold Rush Corey Nakatani Steve Asmussen 51.20--
Smarty Jones earnings included a $5 million racing series bonus
Track condition: Fast
Times: mile – 22.99; mile – 46.73; mile – 1:11.80; mile – 1:37.35; final – 2:04.06. Splits for each quarter-mile: (22.99) (23.74) (25.07) (25.55) (26.71)
Source: Equibase Chart
Payout The 130th Kentucky Derby Payout Schedule ProgramNumber Horse Name Win Place Show15 Smarty Jones $10.20 $6.20 $4.803 Lion Heart - $8.20 $5.8010 Imperialism - - $6.20
$2 Exacta: (15-3) Paid $65.20 $2 Trifecta: (15-3-10) Paid $987.60 $2 Superfecta: (15-3-10-1) Paid $41,380.202004 Kentucky Derby Results, Horse-races.net
Subsequent racing careers Several horses went on to win Grade I races: Smarty Jones – Preakness Stakes Lion Heart – Haskell Invitational Birdstone – Belmont Stakes, Travers Stakes Borrego – 2005 Pacific Classic, Jockey Club Gold Cup Castledale – 2005 Shoemaker Mile
Subsequent breeding careers Sires of Classic winners
Tapit – leading sire in North America 2014-2016 Tonalist – 2014 Belmont Stakes, Jockey Club Gold Cup, 2015 Cigar Mile, Jockey Club Gold Cup Creator – 2016 Belmont Stakes, Arkansas Derby Tapwrit – 2017 Belmont Stakes Untapable – 2014 Kentucky Oaks, Mother Goose Stakes, Cotillion, Breeders' Cup Distaff, 2015 Apple Blossom Frosted – 2015 Wood Memorial, 2016 Metropolitan Handicap, Whitney Stakes
Birdstone Mine That Bird – 2009 Kentucky Derby Summer Bird – 2009 Belmont Stakes, Travers Stakes, Jockey Club Gold Cup Noble Bird – 2015 Stephen Foster Handicap
Pollard's Vision Blind Luck – 2010 Kentucky Oaks, Las Virgenes Stakes, Alabama Stakes, 2009 Oak Leaf Stakes, Hollywood Starlet, 2011 Vanity Handicap
Sires of Grade I winners Lion Heart Dangerous Midge – 2010 Breeders' Cup Turf Lion of David – 2010 Arkansas Derby Bradester – 2016 Stephen Foster Handicap Tom's Tribute – 2014 Eddie Read Stakes
Imperialism Imperial Hint – 2017 and 2018 Alfred G. Vanderbilt, Vosburgh
Read the Footnotes Rightly So – 2010 Ballerina Stakes
Sources: American Classic Pedigrees, Equibase, Blood-Horse Stallion Register, Racing Post
References