The Kentucky Derby is an American Grade I stakes race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of 1+1⁄4 miles, the first time horses in the field race that distance.

Held annually on the first Saturday in May, the race is the first leg of the Triple Crown. The Derby is known as "The Run for the Roses", as the winning horse is draped in a blanket of roses. Lasting approximately two minutes, the race has also been called "The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports" or "The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports". It is preceded by the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival.

The race was first run in 1875. Unlike the other races of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes, the Derby has been run annually since its first edition. The race was rescheduled to later in the year due to World War II in 1945 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The 2024 Kentucky Derby is the 150th renewal of the race and will run on May 4th, 2024.

The Derby is the most-watched and most-attended horse race in the United States.