The horse racing community is busy gearing up for the 135th Kentucky Derby, which will be held on Saturday 2 May.
The Grade 1 stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbreds has been held every year since 1875 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
Few other races command quite the same excitement, passion and tradition, believes Pat Talley, president at Lloyd’s Kentucky. “It's often described as the ‘greatest two minutes in sport’. Of course, we are a bit biased here in Kentucky.”
And it has universal appeal. “Celebrities from around the world attend, and the pageantry and parties surrounding it last nearly a month,” says Talley. “More than 1.5 million people attend the Kentucky Derby Festival, which runs for two weeks prior to the Derby.”
Among the guests at the 133rd Derby in 2007 were Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in their first visit to the track.
High stakes
The costs associated with the sport are huge, but for the winners, the prospect of multi-million dollar stud fees the following year makes it all worthwhile.
Sadly, not all horses survive the tough race. Last year’s Derby ended tragically when runner-up Eight Belles collapsed immediately after the race with two broken front ankles. Vets were had no other choice but to euthanise the filly.
There is a lot at stake for the contenders. “For a horse that is a favourite for the Derby—or well thought of for the Derby—you’re looking at £10m plus for the sum insured,” says Julian Lloyd, a bloodstock underwriter at Hiscox. “For the successful ones it’s very lucrative but the cost of getting there is enormous.”
Risks
Horse racing is a sport that sees animals regularly moved around the world, and this introduces a number of risks.
“The biggest problem with long haul shipment, especially in the summer during the racing season in America is heat and humidity,” says Lloyd. “So they do ship quite a lot of the horses by air and quite a lot by road.”
Not all Derby winners will become successful stud horses. Infertility is a controversial and expensive problem, which many experts link to the use of anabolic steroids in training.
“In theory they are now telling us that the steroids they use are very small doses and quite safe but we do get a few mysteriously infertile horses that turn up and which nobody can really explain,” says Lloyd.
Trainers say steroids help to build muscle mass, improve appetite and protect against the wear and tear of racing. Although tragic Derby filly Eight Belles was tested negative for steroids, her death was a call to action that has led to the banning of steroids in most US racing states.
The horse capital of the world
It is no coincidence that Kentucky is home to one the world’s most famous horse races. The area has a long history of horse breeding, which dates back to the American Civil War. Horses that were moved to Lexington during the war thrived on the limestone rich soils.
“The limestone produces grass with a high calcium content, which leads to good bone formation in young horses,” explains Lloyd.
Kentucky horse breeders are renowned for producing exceptional lineages of horses. Many of the horses at this year’s Derby will be Kentucky born and bred.
“Kentucky prides itself as the ‘horse capital of the world’ and horse breeding and racing are multi-billion dollar industries,” says Talley. “Certainly, those types of values require capacity and sufficient specialty underwriting skills. As a specialist market, this is a natural fit for Lloyd’s.”
