Where do the Kentucky winners come from?
It is all about individual victories this weekend - but there is always some national pride and in an Olympic year, a chance to lay down an early marker. 25 Kentucky titles have been claimed (1998 to 2023) by riders from five different nations. The score from the two most prolific nations is currently Great Britain 8 - USA 7.
New Zealand (3) started strongly with wins in 1998 (Nick Larkin) and 2000 (Bltyh Tait). It took until 2013 for Andrew Nicholson to strike again. Monica Spencer has a chance to add to their tally here in 2024.
Australia (3) had a purple patch with three wins in four years thanks to Andrew Hoy (2006), Clayton Fredericks (2007) and Lucinda Fredericks (2009).
Germany (4) can credit ALL of their titles to the maestro Michael Jung (2015, 2016, 2017, 2022). Calvin Bockmann and Christoph Wahler will be aiming to add a second German name to the roll of honor in 2024.
USA (7) have the O'Connor's (Karen 1999, David 2001) and Kim Severson (2002, 2004, 2005) to thank for their first 5 titles. Phillip Dutton (2008) added a sixth before THAT 15-year wait was finally ended by Tamie Smith in last year's renewal. Dutton has a chance again this year, but Elisabeth Halliday, Boyd Martin and Jennie Brannigan all sit ahead of him in the EquiRatings Prediction Centre to level the score at 8-8.
Great Britain (8) got off the mark thanks to Pippa Funnell's historic Grandslam in 2003. William Fox-Pitt (2010, 2012, 2014) and Oliver Townend (2018, 2019, 2021) both added three titles with Mary King (2011) claiming the 8th.
This year could be a tiebreaker. Britain’s leading the predictions right now, thanks to those strong contenders like Yasmin, Tom McEwen, and Oliver Townend, who all have good odds to finish at the top if Derek Di Grazia's course doesn't cause too much disruption to the predictions.