Here's How Old The Kentucky Derby's Horses Are

Everyone's favorite horse race is just around the corner. The 2017 Kentucky Derby will take place on Saturday at Churchill Downs racetrack, and 20 horses will be competing. That's simply a huge field — it's the maximum number allowed, in fact — and if you're wondering how old the Kentucky Derby horses are, you need look no further than the event's website.

The information is a bit tricky to find, however, because the Kentucky Derby's organizers refer not to the horses' birth dates, but their "foal dates." That's an industry term, but it effectively means the same thing. A foal date refers either to the day a horse was born or, in other contexts, the date a pregnant mare is expected to give birth.

In any event, all of the Kentucky Derby horses were born, or foaled, between January and May of 2014, so they're all between three and three-and-a-half years old. If you'd like some more specificity, here are all of the horses' actual birthdays.

• Always Dreaming: February 25th, 2014
• Battle of Midway: January 30th, 2014
• Classic Empire: March 21th, 2014
• Fast and Accurate: March 27th, 2014
• Girvin: March 31th, 2014
• Gormley: March 20th, 2014
• Gunnevera: February 28th, 2014
• Hence: March 28th, 2014
• Irap: February 11th, 2014
• Irish War Cry: May 2nd, 2014
• J Boys Echo: April 21st, 2014
• Looking At Lee: March 7th, 2014
• McCraken: April 13th, 2014
• Patch: March 18th, 2014
• Practical Joke: April 15th, 2014
• Sonneteer: March 1st, 2014
• State of Honor: February 25th, 2014
• Tapwrit: March 28th, 2014
• Thunder Snow: March 24th, 2014
• Untrapped: April 19th, 2014

The favorite to win the race is Always Dreaming, who's been given 4-1 odds to come in first. Up next is Irish War Cry and McCracken, who have 5-1 and 6-1 odds of winning, respectively. On the other end of the spectrum, we have longshot contenders Untrapped, whose odds stand at 61-1, and State of Honor, who has 46-1 odds of winning.

If you're planning on attending the event itself, you may want to bring a raincoat. The weather in Louisville is expected to be "unseasonably cool" on Saturday, according to AccuWeather, with temperatures in the 50s and showers in the morning and early afternoon. Thankfully, the skies are expected to clear up by the time the race starts at 6:34pm, so you may be able to enjoy a Mint Julep or two in the sun before the race is over.