How did Journalism get its name? What to know about Kentucky Derby horse
Editor's note: Follow along throughout the day for live coverage of the 151st Kentucky Derby.
One of the many traditions surrounding the Kentucky Derby each year is looking at the field and picking out the more distinct and clever names of the 20 horses competing in the race.
As the Kentucky Derby runs for the 151st time on Saturday at Churchill Downs, the majority of the top spots on those lists, and betting wagers, are perhaps going to one particular horse: Journalism.
The Kentucky-bred horse enters the Kentucky Derby as one of the hottest horses in the field, coming off four consecutive wins.
With the Run for the Roses taking place on Saturday, May 3 (7:02 p.m. ET), curiosity has risen about how exactly the betting favorite to win the first leg of the Triple Crown landed its name.
Here's what you need to know about Journalism before the Kentucky Derby:
How did Kentucky Derby horse Journalism get its name?
You guessed it, it has to do with actual journalism and a newspaper.
Journalism got its name from one of its co-owners, Aron Wellman, who was a former sports editor of his high school newspaper in Beverly Hills, California.
Wellman and other owners bought the horse for $825,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale in 2023, but had some difficulty in coming up with a name off its sire and dam — Curlin and Mopotism, respectively — so they settled on Journalism.
"I’ve often been accused of being a disgruntled sportswriter because of all the writing I do for Eclipse for our partners and our horse updates and weekly newsletter," Wellman told the Courier-Journal, part of the Paste BN Network. "So journalism is something that I value very much, and I appreciate responsible and diligent journalists."
He added: "For the life of me, I can’t figure out what Mopotism means. We played off of the ‘ism’ part of Mopotism and just tried to find a really good, strong word that ended in ‘ism.’ We came up with Journalism."
Journalism isn't the first media-related named horse to run in the Kentucky Derby. The first horse to add its name to this distinct club was Newsboy in 1882 (11th place finish); there was Editor's Note in 1996 (sixth place finish); Suddenbreakingnews in 2016 (fifth place finish); and most recently Mr. Big News in 2020 (third place finish).
"It wasn’t intended to be this way," Wellman told the Courier-Journal. "But it’s certainly nice to have the media and journalists on our side."
Kentucky Derby: Journalism's record
Journalism is 4-0-1 in five starts. Heading into the Kentucky Derby, Journalism is riding a four-race win streak, with the last victory coming at the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 5 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California.
Here's a breakdown of how Journalism has done in races, per Equibase.com:
- Maiden Special Weight (Santa Anita — Oct. 27, 2024): Third
- Maiden Special Weight (Del Mar — Nov. 17, 2024): First
- Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity (Los Alamitos Thoroughbred — Dec. 14, 2024): First
- Grade 2 DK Horse San Felipe Stakes (Santa Anita — Nov. 17, 2024): First
- Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby (Santa Anita — April 5, 2025): First
What is Journalism's post position in Kentucky Derby?
Journalism will be placed in the No. 8 post position for the Kentucky Derby.
Based on past Kentucky Derby results, the No. 8 gate is a favorable post position. Those that have come out of the No. 8 post position have won the Kentucky Derby nine times, which is tied for the second most wins from a single post position at Churchill Downs.
What is Journalism's odds in Kentucky Derby?
At the time of this writing, Journalism currently holds the best odds of winning the Kentucky Derby at 7-2, per the Kentucky Derby's official website. The last time a morning-line favorite won the Run for the Roses was Justify in 2018.