Nursery
Nursery
Nursery
Could be "Nursery Stakes"
The answer is yes. Other breeds of horses have been known to out-race thoroughbreds. The Morgan horse is one of these, who was recorded to successfully out-run two valuable thoroughbreds. The standardbred is another breed that can out-race thoroughbreds. I own a nine year old, 15.1hh stb mare and she has out-raced 16hh+ 13 year old successful racing thoroughbreds.
No. Only three year old thoroughbreds can enter the derby, so they can only enter once.
Thoroughbreds have to be a minimum of two years old to race. All races have their own age requirements. There are races for two-year-olds, three-year-olds (which are the more widely known ones like the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont), three-year-olds and up, and four-year-olds and up.
Races for 3 year old thoroughbreds are restricted by entry conditions "for 3 year olds". The Triple Crown (Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont) are the most commonly known races for 3 year olds.
The ancestry of the modern thoroughbred traces back to three main sires. The Darley Arabian, the Godolphin Arabian, and the Byerly Turk.
Race for "three year-olds". However, Thoroughbreds that are born in the Northern Hemisphere technically become a year older on January 1 each year and those born in the Southern Hemisphere turn one year older on August 1.
The Jockey Club gives all Thoroughbreds in the northern Hemisphere the birthday of January first and in the southern hemisphere the birthday of September first of their birth year to make it easier to sort the horses into races. They still have their actual birthdays written onto their registration records but they just use a general birthday to make things easier.
I have seen horses race as yearlings and to be in the Kentucky Derby they must be three. It just depends on the race! Most thoroughbreds begin racing at age 2.
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival.