In past eras, horse racing was one of the most popular sports in the nation, attracting throngs of people and massive newspaper coverage. One of the most important equine events was in Illinois at the turn of the century.

The American Derby, which was considered the top race in the nation, was first run in Chicago in 1884, and was an anticipated date in racing for decades. But the event was dragged into constant battles over racing in Chicago and, strangely, is not even run in Illinois anymore.

In the days before the Triple Crown, the American Derby may have been the top race in the United States. The Encyclopedia of Chicago notes that “Opening Day [for horse racing] and the running of the American Derby became major dates on the elite social calendar.” Another source calls the Derby “the most prestigious race of the era.”

The American Derby paid well, too. The 1893 event was the second-richest race in the United States in the 19th century, handing $50,000 to the winner, Boundless.

The winning jockey of the inaugural American Derby in 1884 was Isaac Burns Murphy, who was one of the top African-American riders in a time when Blacks were prominent in the sport. Murphy’s father, a free Black, was a Civil War soldier who had died in a Confederate prison camp.

Murphy is considered one of the first jockeys to save his horse for a strong finish down the homestretch. His 1884 win in the American Derby was the first of three straight in the event, which he also captured in 1889.

He is only one of three jockeys to win the American Derby four or more times. Murphy also won the Kentucky Derby in 1890 and 1891.

One of the early notable champions was Spokane in 1889, who had won the Kentucky Derby six weeks before. At that time, the American Derby was actually a bigger deal.

Born in Montana, Spokane was foaled in Illinois at the farm of Richard Rowett, one mile north of Carlinville. Rowett sold Spokane’s dam while she was in foal, and the colt was born in Montana.

A Civil War hero, Rowett is credited with introducing the true-bred beagle hound to the United States from his native England in the mid-1870s. Spokane was named for the city in Washington.

Spokane entered the 1889 American Derby as a 6-5 favorite, then beat archrival Proctor Knott by a length. He became the first horse to win both the Kentucky and American Derby. A crowd estimated at anywhere from 50,000 to 75,000 was on hand.

The jockey on Spokane was Thomas Kiley, who won a second straight American Derby in 1890 with Uncle Bob. Kiley, who later owned horses, died penniless in a St. Louis hotel in 1914 at age 55.

The American Derby was normally contested at the old Washington Park on Chicago’s south side, a premier racing venue for decades. But there was no racing in Chicago from 1895-97 and again in 1899, causing a gap in the Derby. Then the State of Illinois banned racing in 1905, bringing another extended pause.

After multiple efforts, racing was finally reintroduced in 1926, and with the change came a new venue for the American Derby. In 1926 and 1927, it was run at the new Washington Park in Homewood, a south Chicago suburb, before being contested at Arlington Park in 1928.

The event then moved back to the new Washington Park in 1929, where it stayed through 1957 before returning to Arlington Park once again.

The site was not the only change for the race. From 1955-57 and again from 1970-76, the American Derby became a turf event. The Derby permanently moved to turf in 1992. The distance also changed frequently; in its existence, the American Derby has been contested at six different lengths.

Despite the gaps in competition and numerous alterations, the American Derby remained a top event. In 2021, racing journalist Bob Kieckhefer wrote of the race’s “historic peak in the mid-20th century.” An American Derby board game, authorized by Washington Park Jockey Club, was released in 1953.

In 1934, the Kentucky Derby winner, Cavalcade, reportedly skipped the Belmont in order to run in the American Derby, which he also won.

In two instances in the 1940s, a horse captured the American Derby in the same year he won the Triple Crown – Whirlaway in 1941 and Citation in 1948.

Famed jockey Eddie Arcaro rode Citation to the wins in 1948, including the American Derby. Arcaro was also aboard Native Dancer to win the American in 1953, the same year the horse captured both the Preakness and Belmont.

The sole defeat of Native Dancer’s career was at the 1953 Kentucky Derby. Native Dancer was ranked seventh in a 1998 panel of the top 100 racehorses of the 20th century.

In all, Arcaro won the American Derby five times, the same number as Bill Shoemaker, whose first title in the race came aboard Swaps in 1955. Earlier that year, Swaps won the Kentucky Derby.

In 1967, Shoemaker claimed the American Derby with Damascus, who had won the Preakness and Belmont earlier that season. Damascus, who ran third in the Kentucky Derby that spring, was later named the 1967 Horse of the Year.

From 1942-44, the American Derby was captured by George Woolf, a Canadian riding star who had won the Preakness in 1936. Woolf, however, is best known as the jockey of Seabiscuit in several 1938 races, including a match race with Triple Crown winner War Admiral.

Other star jockeys to ride in the American Derby include Ron Turcotte, who won the 1976 race aboard Fifth Marine, three years after he rode the incomparable Secretariat to the Triple Crown. Laffit Pincay Jr., the American Derby winner in 1969 and 1971, won four Triple Crown races during his career.

More recently, Pat Day, a nine-time Triple Crown race winner, notched wins at the American Derby in 1983, 1984 and 1992. Craig Perret, the Belmont winner in 1987 and Kentucky Derby champion in 1990, took the American Derby in 1989.

Recent top trainers who have won the American Derby include Woody Stephens, with Smarten in 1970 and Crème Fraiche in 1985; D. Wayne Lukas with Real Cash in 1990; and Todd Pletcher with Divine Oath in 2014.

However, the American Derby declined in recent years, likely a reflection of the drop in horse racing in Illinois. Kieckhefer wrote that the “historic American Derby mirrors Illinois racing woes.”

With the closure of Arlington Park after the 2021 season, the event was moved out of state and contested at Churchill Downs, the home of the Kentucky Derby, in 2022. It then moved to Ellis Park, south of Evansville, Indiana, in 2023, when the purse was $225,000. The 2024 event is scheduled for June 29.

• Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville, Illinois. He may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.