Kentucky Derby winners fit for the coronation of King Charles III

The Kentucky Derby itself takes its inspiration from the British cradle of the Thoroughbred. The Churchill Downs classic was initially modeled after the Derby at Epsom Downs. That original Derby, dating back to 1780, was named after an aristocrat, the 12th Earl of Derby. 

Since Thoroughbred racing has long been dubbed the “Sport of Kings,” it’s only fitting that many of its equine heroes sport royally-themed names. Those looking for hunch bets in the 2023 Kentucky Derby have options, from Kingsbarns and Angel of Empire to Lord Miles. And if you look at the contenders’ parents, how about champion and likely favorite Forte, who is out of a mare named Queen Caroline?

In honor of the Kentucky Derby Day coronation of Charles III, here’s a selection of past winners of the “Run for the Roses” whose names are apropos for the occasion. 

Reigh Count, the 1928 Derby winner, went on to race in England where he captured the Coronation Cup. Held over the same course and distance as the Epsom Derby, the race was previously known as the Epsom Gold Cup. It was rebranded in 1902 to mark the coronation of Edward VII, who succeeded his long-lived mother, Queen Victoria. Reigh Count kicked off the first three-generation dynasty of Derby winners, continued by Triple Crown champion Count Fleet (1943) and concluded by Count Turf (1951).

Triple Crown legend Secretariat (1973) has a name more redolent of bureaucracy than pomp and circumstance, but his parents – Bold Ruler and Somethingroyal (herself a daughter of *Princequillo and Imperatrice) – were virtually caparisoned in regalia. So would Secretariat have been, if owner/breeder Penny Chenery’s first few naming attempts had been accepted by the Jockey Club. Just imagine – we might have been commemorating the 50th anniversary of “Scepter.” 

Among those Derby heroes with monarchical names are Triple Crown winner American Pharoah (2015); Monarchos (2001); Kauai King (1966); Majestic Prince (1969); and for a homelier angle, Burgoo King (1932), the nickname of James T. Looney, proprietor of a grocery store and master chef of Kentucky’s stew. 

Arthurian lore is embedded in the name of Gallahadion (1940). His sire, *Sir Gallahad III, pays tribute to the knight whose purity enabled him to glimpse the Holy Grail. Gallahadion is one of a record-tying three Derby winners for the equine *Sir Gallahad III, a trio led by Triple Crown legend Gallant Fox (1930). The honored guest at that 1930 Derby was the 17th Earl of Derby.

Orb (2013) conjures up the image of a globe surmounted by a cross, reflecting divinely-bestowed power. Along with the scepter, the orb will be a prominent object in the ceremony at Westminster Abbey. In fact, the code name for Charles III’s coronation is Operation Golden Orb.

Cavalcade (1934) offers another word of the day, since ceremonial processions are a feature of the coronation program. And with the British armed forces arrayed for the festivities, surely we will spot a War Emblem (2002).

Triple Crown sweeper War Admiral (1937), by Man o’ War, and Sea Hero (1993) offer tie-ins to naval history. The great British Admiral, Horatio Lord Nelson, was fatally injured in the course of his epic victory over the French at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Oak from his ship, the HMS Victory, was memorialized into a crown that tops the Diamond Jubilee State Coach – the very coach that will convey Charles III and Queen Camilla to the abbey. The new king, who himself served in the Royal Navy, holds the titles of Admiral of the Fleet and Lord High Admiral. 

Another Derby winner, Jet Pilot (1947), can reflect Charles’s service as an aviator in the Royal Air Force. Dust Commander (1970) likewise connotes military leadership, or historically, ranking in a knightly order.

Iron Liege (1957) calls to mind the expression “liege lord,” who commands those bound to him in the old system of feudalism.

Macbeth (1888) can allude to Charles’s Scottish royal heritage from his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Her maiden name was Bowes-Lyon, the family that held Glamis Castle since the 14th century. 

Go for Gin (1994) might evoke the Queen Mum’s fondness for gin, and horses. Winning Colors (1988) makes one think of the exquisite royal silks sported by a succession of British monarchs’ runners, now competing seamlessly for the King.

Donau (1910), German for the Danube River, points to Charles III’s distant familial relationships that extend right across Europe. He’s related to a whole swath of royal houses not only through his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, but through his late father, Prince Philip. His parents are pictured below (with former U.S. Ambassador Will Farish of Lanes End Farm) at their visit to the 2007 Derby won by Street Sense.

Animal Kingdom (2011) refers to a different kind of realm, and Kingman (1891) was reportedly named after a town in Kansas, but their etymology alone demands inclusion. Kingman was the third Derby winner ridden by legendary African-American jockey Isaac Murphy. Lord Murphy (1884) wasn’t one of them. 

His Eminence (1901) and Alan-a-Dale (1902) were back-to-back Derby winners for another great African-American rider, Jimmy Winkfield. Alan-a-Dale harkens back to the tales of Robin Hood, as the wandering minstrel who falls in with the Merry Men. 

Sir Huon (1906) is a knight in the court of Charlemagne in Oberon, a Carla Maria von Weber opera, according to pedigree expert Avalyn Hunter’s americanclassicpedigrees.com. The operatic connection fits since Sir Huon is by Falsetto, another sire of three Derby winners (including His Eminence).

Sir Barton (1919), the first Triple Crown winner, has an historical, if checkered, antecedent. His name derives from the Scottish privateer popularly called Sir Andrew Barton, who was killed in 1511 – by the English. 

Pleasant Colony (1981) could imply the complex, and conflicted, history of the British Empire that has given way to the modernized Commonwealth. 

No list would be complete without the two British-bred winners, *Omar Khayyam (1917) and *Tomy Lee (1959). The asterisks denote their status as imported horses, in the era before country codes became the style.

An even more notable import was the first Epsom Derby winner, Diomed. Shipped to the fledgling United States in 1798 as an older stallion, he exercised a profound influence, and his sire line culminated in the legendary Lexington. In a similar fashion, so has Kentucky’s version of the Derby reshaped American racing, and served as a coronation all its own.