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known as the Louisville Jockey Club grounds, seven years later the track was commonly referred to as Churchill Downs, named for John and Henry Churchill, who provided the land for the racetrack. The naming went official in 1937.The Kentucky Derby was first run at 1 1/2 miles (12 furlongs; 2.4 km) the same distance as the Epsom Derby, before changing lengths in 1896 to its current 1 1/4 miles (10 furlongs; 2 km). On May 17, 1875, in front of an estimated crowd of 10,000 people, a field of 15 three-year-old

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