What’s the weather been like over the years at the KY Derby? It’s often rainy
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Of the 150 Kentucky Derbies through 150 runnings, race day saw rain 72 times.
- The most race-day rain fell in 2018, totaling 3.15 inches.
- This year’s forecast calls for partly sunny skies with a high of 61 and no rain.
As the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby inches closer on the calendar, horse racing fans know they need to pay extra attention to the weather forecast before departing for the races.
The previous 150 editions of the Derby have seen all types of weather, including extreme hot and cold temperatures, sunny skies, torrential rain showers and even sleet in 1989. While most race days feature pleasant spring weather, it’s never a guarantee that the weather will cooperate during the Run for the Roses.
This year’s Derby forecast calls for pleasant conditions: partly sunny skies with a high temperature of 61 degrees. As of Tuesday morning, there was no rain in the forecast for Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
If the forecast holds to form, it will be the first time since 2021 that at least a trace of rain does not fall on Churchill Downs, according to the NWS. Of the 150 Runs for the Roses, it has rained 72 times at some point during race day.
The most amount of rain that has ever fallen on race day was in 2018 when 3.15 inches of rain fell in Louisville, most of which came in the afternoon/evening, according to the NWS. It was only the sixth time in the Derby’s history that more than one inch of rain fell on race day.
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Last year it rained 0.37 inches on race day, including 0.03 inches in the afternoon/evening, according to the NWS. Last year’s high temperature on race day was 65 degrees, which was only the fourth time in the past 12 years the temperature did not reach the 70s.
This Saturday’s predicted high temperature of 61 degrees is unusually low for early May. The average high temperature for Louisville on May 2 is 74 degrees, according to the NWS.
The last time the Derby took place on a day when the temperature didn’t reach the 60s was in 1989, when the high temperature was 51 degrees. The NWS said traces of sleet fell that day between 1:01 p.m. and 1:05 p.m.
The coldest high temperature recorded on race day took place in 1935 and 1957, when the temperature only reached 47 degrees, according to the NWS. The warmest high temperature ever recorded on race day took place two years after the coldest high temperature record was set in 1959, when it reached 94 degrees.
