Indiana Derby

The Indiana Derby is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run over a distance of 1+1⁄16 miles on the dirt held annually in July at Horseshoe Indianapolis in Shelbyville, Indiana. It is the racetrack's signature event offering its current highest purse at $300,000.

Indiana Derby

Class	Grade III
Location	Horseshoe Indianapolis Shelbyville, Indiana, United States
Inaugurated	1995
Race type	Thoroughbred - Flat racing
Website	www.caesars.com/horseshoe-indianapolis
Race information
Distance	1+1⁄16 miles
Surface	Dirt
Track	left-handed
Qualification	Three-year-olds
Weight	124 lbs with allowances
Purse	$300,000 (since 2020)[1]

History

The event was inaugurated on 7 October 1995 at Hoosier Park and was won by Dogwood Stable's Peruvian who was the second part of trainer Peter Vestal's entry in a time of 1:43 flat on a fast track.^[2]

The event was upgraded to Grade III in 2002 and in 2004 to Grade II. It held this classification until 2017 when the event was downgraded back to Grade III.^[1]

The dead heat in the 2006 running was the first dead heat for the Indiana Derby. The result was contested by the owners of Star Dabbler who came out of the race injured. They believed he won the race so took the issue to arbitration but the result was upheld.^[3]

The 2009 win by Misremembered set a new track record.^[4] 2010 marked a groundbreaking year for the Indiana Derby and racing in the state of Indiana when Lookin At Lucky became the first winner of a Triple Crown race ever to race in the state of Indiana. Sent off at odds of 2–5, Lookin At Lucky won the race by 11⁄4 lengths in last-to-first fashion much to the delight of the ontrack crowd.^[5]

In 2013 the event was moved to Indiana Grand,^[6] now known as Horseshoe Indianapolis. Since 2015, the race has been held in July.^[1]

Bob Baffert became the first trainer to win the race two years in a row in 2009 and 2010 with Misremembered and Lookin At Lucky. He won his third Indiana Derby with Power Broker in 2013, and his fourth with Cupid in 2016.

In 2020 the event was run over the 1+1⁄8 miles distance however the following year this distance was reverted to 1+1⁄16 miles.^[6]

Records

Speed record:

Tip Top Thomas (6) at the 2025 Indiana Derby

• 1:40.80 - Misremembered (2009, at Hoosier Park)
• 1:41.15 - Tip Top Thomas (2025, at the Indiana Grand Race Course)

Margins:

• 5 lengths – Irap (2017)

Most wins by a jockey:

• 3 - Robby Albarado (1998, 2001, 2007)
• 3 - Florent Geroux (2018, 2020, 2024)

Most wins by a trainer:

• 4 - Bob Baffert (2009, 2010, 2013, 2016)

Most wins by an owner:

• 2 - Derrick Smith, Mrs. John Magnier & Michael Tabor (2016, 2023)

Winners

Year	Winner	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Distance	Time	Purse	Grade	Ref
At Horseshoe Indianapolis (Indiana Grand Race Course)
2025	Tip Top Thomas	John R. Velazquez	Todd A. Pletcher	James J. Bakke & Gerald Isbister	1+1⁄16 miles	1:41.15	$300,000	III	[7]
2024	Dragoon Guard	Florent Geroux	Brad H. Cox	Juddmonte Farms	1+1⁄16 miles	1:42.26	$300,000	III	[7]
2023	Verifying	Marcelino Pedroza Jr.	Brad H. Cox	Derrick Smith, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Jonathan Poulin & Westerburg	1+1⁄16 miles	1:43.15	$300,000	III	[8]
2022	Actuator	James Graham	Michael W. McCarthy	Black Type Thoroughbreds, Rags Racing Stables, Rick Howard & Gavin O'Connor	1+1⁄16 miles	1:44.48	$300,000	III	[9]
2021	Mr. Wireless	Ramon Vazquez	W. Bret Calhoun	Jon Lapczenski & JIL Stable	1+1⁄16 miles	1:42.84	$300,000	III	[10]
2020	Shared Sense	Florent Geroux	Brad H. Cox	Godolphin Racing	1+1⁄8 miles	1:49.46	$300,000	III	[11]
2019	Mr. Money	Gabriel Saez	W. Bret Calhoun	Allied Racing Stable	1+1⁄16 miles	1:41.80	$500,000	III	[12]
2018	Axelrod	Florent Geroux	Michael W. McCarthy	Slam Dunk Racing	1+1⁄16 miles	1:43.00	$500,000	III	[13]
2017	Irap	Mario Gutierrez	Doug F. O'Neill	Reddam Racing	1+1⁄16 miles	1:42.21	$500,000	III	[14]
2016	Cupid	Rafael Bejarano	Bob Baffert	Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier & Derrick Smith	1+1⁄16 miles	1:43.02	$512,000	II	[15]
2015	Tiz Shea D	Jose Lezcano	William I. Mott	Brous Stable, Wachtel Stable & Gary Barber	1+1⁄16 miles	1:43.02	$508,000	II	[16]
2014	East Hall	Luis Saez	William A. Kaplan	Jack H. Hendricks & Roger Justice	1+1⁄16 miles	1:42.24	$507,100	II	[17]
2013	Power Broker	Martin Garcia	Bob Baffert	Gary & Mary West	1+1⁄16 miles	1:41.95	$514,000	II	[18]
At Hoosier Park
2012	Neck 'n Neck	Brian Hernandez Jr.	Ian R. Wilkes	A. Stevens Miles, Jr.	1+1⁄16 miles	1:42.71	$513,600	II	[19]
2011	Wilburn	Julien R. Leparoux	Steven M. Asmussen	Stonestreet Stables	1+1⁄16 miles	1:43.60	$510,900	II	[20]
2010	Lookin at Lucky	Martin Garcia	Bob Baffert	Mike Pegram, Karl Watson & Paul Weitman	1+1⁄16 miles	1:43.40	$510,900	II	[21]
2009	Misremembered	Victor Espinoza	Bob Baffert	Jill Baffert & George Jacobs	1+1⁄16 miles	1:40.80	$512,600	II	[22]
2008	Tin Cup Chalice	Pedro A. Rodriguez	Michael A. LeCesse	Michael A. Lecesse & Scott van Laer	1+1⁄16 miles	1:45.00	$514,100	II	[23]
2007	Zanjero	Robby Albarado	Steven M. Asmussen	Winchell Thoroughbreds	1+1⁄16 miles	1:43.95	$510,600	II	[24]
2006	Cielo Gold	Brian Hernandez Jr.	Hal R. Wiggins	Hillcrest Farm Racing	1+1⁄16 miles	1:42.84	$513,200	II	DH[25]
	Star Dabbler	Richard Migliore	Michael E. Hushion	Barry K. Schwartz
2005	Don't Get Mad	Brice Blanc	Ronald W. Ellis	B. Wayne Hughes	1+1⁄16 miles	1:42.71	$511,300	II	[26]
2004	Brass Hat	Willie Martinez	William B. Bradley	Fred F. Bradley	1+1⁄16 miles	1:44.04	$511,300	II	[27]
2003	Excessivepleasure	Jon Court	Doug F. O'Neill	Lee & Ty Leatherman	1+1⁄16 miles	1:43.48	$411,800	III	[28]
2002	Perfect Drift	Jon Court	Murray W. Johnson	Stonecrest Farm	1+1⁄16 miles	1:43.50	$414,700	III	[29]
2001	Orientate	Robby Albarado	D. Wayne Lukas	Bob & Beverly Lewis	1+1⁄16 miles	1:42.22	$314,100	Listed	[30]
2000	Mister Deville	Luis S. Quinonez	Wilson L. Brown	Darwin Olson	1+1⁄16 miles	1:41.80	$307,500	Listed	[31]
1999	Forty One Carats	Jorge F. Chavez	David Fawkes	Walter L. New & Jack T. Hammer	1+1⁄16 miles	1:42.24	$313,500	Listed	[32]
1998	One Bold Stroke	Robby Albarado	James E. Baker	Landon Knight & Mary Lu Noon	1+1⁄16 miles	1:43.14	$314,500	Listed	[33]
1997	Dubai Dust	Sidney P. LeJeune Jr.	D. Wayne Lukas	Gonzalo B. Torrealba	1+1⁄16 miles	1:44.00	$212,400	Listed	[34]
1996	Canyon Run	Francisco C. Torres	Steven L. Morguelan	Marco Bommarito	1+1⁄16 miles	1:41.40	$107,600	Listed	[35]
1995	§ Peruvian	Dean Kutz	Peter M. Vestal	Dogwood Stable	1+1⁄16 miles	1:43.00	$111,500	Listed	[2]

Notes:
§ Ran as part of an entry

See also

List of American and Canadian Graded races

External links

• Hoosier Park's official site