Winning the Kentucky Derby is one of the most difficult-to-achieve feats not only in horse racing but all of American sports.
Even among the legendary winners of the Kentucky Derby are jockeys, trainers, and owners who stand above their peers for an even rarer achievement: winning both the Derby and the Kentucky Oaks — a Grade I stakes race for 3-year-old fillies — in the same season.
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The feat is dubbed the “Oaks/Derby Double.”
Thorpedo Anna won the 2024 Kentucky Oaks on Friday to set up the potential of the historic achievement for jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. and trainer Kenny McPeek. With Mystik Dan’s photo-finish victory in the 150th Kentucky Derby on Saturday, both Hernandez and McPeek joined that exclusive pantheon of horse racing legends.
Here’s everything you need to know about the rare Oaks/Derby Double, including the company Hernandez and McPeek now keep following the 2024 runnings of the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby:
What is the Oaks/Derby Double?
The Oaks/Derby Double is an achievement that occurs when any jockey, trainer or owner wins both the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby in the same calendar year. The 2024 runnings of the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby marks the 10th time it has happened, with the most previous occurrence happening in 2018.
That year, Head of Plains Partners and Monomoy Stables — co-owners of Monomoy Girl and Justify — became the third and fourth owners to achieve the feat.
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Oaks/Derby Double winners
With wins by Thorpedo Anna in the Kentucky Oaks and Mystik Dan in the Kentucky Derby, Hernandez and McPeek became just the eighth jockey and fourth trainer, respectively, to achieve the Oaks/Derby Double.
The next-most recent jockey to achieve the feat was Calvin Borel in 2009, when horses Rachel Alexandra and Mine That Bird won the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby, respectively.
Ben Jones was the last trainer to achieve the feat, when his horses — Real Delight and Hill Gail — won the 1952 Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby, respectively. He also achieved the feat in 1949.
Here’s a look at each of the previous Oaks/Derby Double winners, which includes eight jockeys, four trainers and four owners:
Jockeys
Owners
Trainers
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Who won the 2024 Kentucky Oaks?
Thorpedo Anna won the 1 1/8-mile Kentucky Oaks in 2024 with a time of 1:50.83. Here’s a look as she finished her dominant victory in Friday’s race:
Who won the 2024 Kentucky Derby?
Mystik Dan’s victory at the 2024 Kentucky Derby was considerably closer than Thorpedo Anna’s. He won in a photo finish in the 1 1/4-mile Kentucky Derby with an unofficial time of 2:03.34.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: What is the Oaks/Derby Double? Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan contributes to historic feat
