| Surface: | Dirt |
| Class: | Grade I stakes race |
| Horse Race: | Kentucky Derby |
| Location: | Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky |
| Date: | May 6, 1978 |
| Winning Horse: | Affirmed |
| Winning Jockey: | Steve Cauthen |
| Winning Trainer: | Laz Barrera |
| Winning Owner: | Harbor View Farm |
| Conditions: | Fast |
| Attendance: | 131,004[1] |
| Previous: | 1977 |
| Next: | 1979 |
The 1978 Kentucky Derby was the 104th running of the Kentucky Derby. Affirmed, under jockey Steve Cauthen, won the race by 1 1/2 lengths over Alydar.[2] [3] Believe It finished 3rd, 1 1/4 lengths behind Alydar, and 30:1 longshot Darby Creek Road finished 4th.[4] [5] Affirmed won the Triple Crown by defeating Alydar by decreasing margins in the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes.[2]
11 horses competed in the race.[2] Alydar went into the race as a 6:5 favorite, despite Affirmed having won 4 of the 6 previous races between the two.[2] Affirmed went off at 9:5.[2] Sensitive Prince and Believe It were the only other horses to go off at less than 30:1, at 9:2 and 7:1 respectively.[4] Sensitive Prince and Affirmed, both frontrunners, were near the lead early in the race behind long shot Raymond Earl.[4] Sensitive Prince took the lead at the first turn, but Affirmed gained the lead at the second turn.[6] After attaining the lead, Affirmed held it for the remainder of the race except for a brief moment when Believe It led by a head.[6] [5] Alydar charged from the outside down the stretch, and overtook Believe It, despite the two horses bumping, but Alydar could not overtake Affirmed.[6] [3] [5]
| Program Number | Horse Name | Win | Place | Show | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Affirmed | $5.60 | $2.80 | $2.60 | |
| 10 | Alydar | - | $2.60 | $2.40 | |
| 9 | Believe It | - | - | $2.80 |
| Finished | Post | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Time / behind | Odds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2 | Affirmed | Laz Barrera | Harbor View Farm | 2:01 1/5 | 9:5 | ||
| 2nd | 10 | Alydar | Jorge Velásquez | John M. Veitch | Calumet Farm | 1 | 6:5 | |
| 3rd | 9 | Eddie Maple | Woody Stephens | Hickory Tree Stable | 1 | 7:1 | ||
| 4th | 7 | Darby Creek Road | Donald Brumfield | Lou Rondinello | James W. (Wally) & Jody Galbreath Phillips | 30:1 | ||
| 5th | 3 | Esops Foibles | Chris McCarron | Loren Rettele | Jerry Frankel | 45:1 | ||
| 6th | 11 | Sensitive Prince | Mickey Solomone | Top of the Marc Stable (Joseph Taub) | 9:2 | |||
| 7th | 8 | Dr. Valeri | Rene Riera Jr. | Aurelio M. Perez | Virginio & Ronal Renzi | 90:1 | ||
| 8th | 5 | Hoist the Silver | Richard J. Fischer | Washington Stud (Jack E. Dasso/D. Golab/Perry Levinson/E.M. Solomon) | 99:1 | |||
| 9th | 6 | Chief of Dixieland | Anthony Rini | Jake Morreale | Dixie-Jake, Inc. | 99:1 | ||
| 10th | 1 | Raymond Earl | Smiley Adams | Robert N. Lehmann | 99:1 | |||
| 11th | 4 | Special Honor | Paul Nicolo | Elwood D. McCann | Linda Gaston & Alvin D. Haynes | 99:1 | ||