For people who grew up in Boston and are of a certain age, the 2018 Kentucky Derby will mark the 50th anniversary of a Derby that will always be steeped in controversy. The 1968 Kentucky Derby was won by Dancer’s Image, who rallied from last in the field of 14 and scored by 1 1/2 lengths despite his rider losing his whip into the stretch. Dancer’s Image was owned by the late Peter Fuller, the son of a former Massachusetts governor, a boxer in his youth, a highly successful businessman, and a sportsman of the first order. :: The Road to the Kentucky Derby Player's Package I grew up in Boston, and I vividly remember Dancer’s Image’s Derby victory being front-page news there. I also vividly remember the shock and outrage when, only a few days later, Dancer’s Image was disqualified on the basis of a subsequently disputed post-race urinalysis finding of phenylbutazone (bute), which was then illegal. The Derby was awarded to the runner up, Calumet Farm’s Forward Pass, and Dancer’s Image was saddled with the dubious distinction of being the only Kentucky Derby winner ever to be disqualified – a distinction that, after a protracted legal fight, he still maintains. Fuller vehemently protested the ruling, insisting that Dancer’s Image’s handlers, principally trainer Lou Cavalaris Jr. and the vet who attended to his colt in Kentucky, Dr. Alex Harthill, operated by the book. They did not dispute that Dancer’s Image received one dose of bute the Sunday before the Derby, well before the acknowledged 24-hour withdrawal period, but insisted their colt did not receive another dose of what would soon become a ubiquitous, legal race-day medication. One theory had Dancer’s Image, who was accorded an excellent chance of winning that Derby and was, in fact, the 7-2 second choice in the betting behind the 2-1 favorite Forward Pass, as the victim of nefarious actions by outsiders. Fuller was an outspoken proponent of the civil-rights movement, and that chafed influential people in racing at that time. Fuller actually had concerns someone might attempt to tamper with Dancer’s Image before the race, so he requested additional security for his colt from Churchill Downs. That request was denied. In any case, Fuller fought Dancer’s Image’s disqualification for four years, the full extension of his legal recourse. He once gained a ruling overturning the disqualification from a court that found absence of proof of the presence of illegal drugs in Dancer’s Image’s post-race test, but ultimately lost in what proved to be the last legal arena available to him. Fuller, however, always maintained Dancer’s Image’s innocence. I learned that firsthand during occasional correspondence I had with him in the years, and for a time after, he campaigned his champion filly Mom’s Command. Forward Pass came back to win the Preakness by six lengths, with Dancer’s Image finishing third, only to be disqualified and placed eighth for fouling an opponent. Dancer’s Image was retired after the Preakness, while Forward Pass went on to compete in the Belmont Stakes. I realize how the following might sound, but perhaps the only silver lining in this episode was Forward Pass lost the Belmont to Stage Door Johnny. I say that because, if Forward Pass had won the Belmont, he would have been the most unsatisfying Triple Crown winner imaginable. Forward Pass didn’t get his Kentucky Derby win on the track. He got it in a courtroom, and four years after the fact, to boot. Not exactly a Triple Crown that would have merited celebration. Going back and reviewing the 1968 Kentucky Derby gave me a jolting reminder of how much this sport has changed. Horses still run around an oval, but so much else is different. For example, consider the records of the horses who started in the 1968 Derby. Here they are, listed in post position order, with the total number of starts they had going into the Derby (followed in parentheses by their total number of wins), and then their number of starts at 3 prior to the Derby (followed in parentheses by their wins at 3): 1968 Kentucky Derby starters Starts going into Derby (Wins) Starts at 3 y/o prior to Derby (Wins) Iron Ruler 17 (5) 6 (1) T. V. Commercial 17 (6) 5 (0) Jig Time 16 (3) 11 (3) Kentucky Sherry 17 (11) 5 (4) Trouble Brewing 12 (2) 6 (1) Te Vega 23 (3) 11 (0) Don B 18 (9) 6 (1) Verbatim 23 (6) 11 (3) Captain's Gig 8 (6) 3 (3) Francie's Hat 11 (2) 5 (0) Proper Proof 23 (5) 11 (4) Dancer's Image 22 (12) 7 (4) Forward Pass 17 (7) 7 (4) Gleaming Sword 8 (3) 8 (3) Yes, when viewed from a 21st century perspective, those numbers are staggering. Four of the 14 entrants in that Derby already had 22 or more career starts, including Dancer’s Image, who had already racked up 12 wins. An astounding 10 of the 14 participants had already raced 17 or more times. Ten of the 14 had six or more starts at 3 before the Derby, and four of those raced 11 times at 3 before the first Saturday in May. There were two starters in the 1968 Kentucky Derby who were still in single-digit starts territory going into the race, having raced eight times each. They finished 11th, and 14th and last. Contrast that with the top 20 current candidates for the 2018 Derby, as listed in DRF’s most recent Derby Watch. Below are those horses, listed in the order they appear in Derby Watch. The first number after their names is the best estimate of the total career starts they would have going into the Derby (should they make the Derby), and the number that follows is the best estimate of starts at 3 these horses would have prior to the Derby: 2018 Kentucky Derby candidates Estimated career starts prior to Derby Estimated 3 y/o starts prior to Derby Good Magic 5 2 Bolt d'Oro 6 2 McKinzie 5 3 Audible 5 2 Solomini 6 2 Catholic Boy 6 2 Free Drop Billy 8 3 Justify 3 3 Magnum Moon 4 4 Bravazo 8 3 Instilled Regard 7 3 Kanthaka 5 3 My Boy Jack 10 4 Avery Island 7 3 Flameaway 9 4 Noble Indy 4 3 Snapper Sinclair 7 3 Sporting Chance 6 3 Combatant 7 4 Strike Power 4 3 We all knew the difference would be stark, but this is still stunning. Only one of the above 20 – My Boy Jack – is projected to have double-digit career starts going into the Derby. Meanwhile, eight of these 20 would have five or fewer career starts before the Derby. Career starts. Only four of the above 20 would have more than three starts at 3 before the Derby, yet more – five, to be precise – would have only two 3-year-old preps. Of course, we are just now entering next-to-last Derby prep stage, so it is virtually certain some horses on the current Derby Watch will fall off the list and will be replaced by new faces. But I suspect the overall point will remain the same. Those new Derby Watch horses are very likely to be relative first-time starters compared to the Derby participants of 50 years ago.