| 57th Kentucky Derby | |
| Class: | Grade I stakes race |
| Horse Race: | Kentucky Derby |
| Location: | Churchill Downs |
| Date: | May 16, 1931 |
| Winning Horse: | Twenty Grand |
| Winning Jockey: | Charles Kurtsinger |
| Winning Trainer: | James G. Rowe Jr. |
| Winning Owner: | Greentree Stable |
| Surface: | Dirt |
| Previous: | 1930 |
| Next: | 1932 |
The 1931 Kentucky Derby was the 57th running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 16, 1931.[1] Horses Equipoise, Up, and Don Leon scratched before the race. Twenty Grand's winning time set a new Derby record (later broken).[2] The winner was owned and bred by the Greentree Stable of Helen Hay Whitney. It marked the fourth time in the Derby's history that a woman owned the winning horse and the second time that a woman was both owner and breeder.[3]
The 1931 Preakness Stakes was held one week prior, on May 9,[4] making this the most recent time that the Preakness was run before the Kentucky Derby.[5] Until the 2020 Kentucky Derby and 2020 Preakness Stakes were rescheduled to follow the 2020 Belmont Stakes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 1931 was the most recent time that the Kentucky Derby was not the first leg of the Triple Crown.[6]
| Finished | Post | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Time / behind | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 5 | Twenty Grand | Charley Kurtsinger | James G. Rowe Jr. | Greentree Stable | 2:01.80 | |
| 2nd | 1 | Sweep All | Frank Coltiletti | Clyde Van Dusen | Dixiana | 4 | |
| 3rd | 10 | Mate | George Ellis | James W. Healy | Albert C. Bostwick Jr. | 1 | |
| 4th | 6 | Spanish Play | Charles E. Allen | George Land | Knebelkamp & Morris | 4 | |
| 5th | 7 | Boys Howdy | Gilbert Riley | Loyd Gentry Sr. | Harry C. Hatch | ||
| 6th | 12 | Insco | Steve O'Donnell | Charles E. Durnell | Griffin Watkins | 6 | |
| 7th | 9 | Pittsburgher | Charles Corbett | James H. Moody | Shady Brook Farm Stable | 1 | |
| 8th | 3 | The Mongol | James McCoy | William Reed | Hamburg Place | Head | |
| 9th | 4 | Ladder | Louis Schaefer | Jack R. Price | Walter J. Salmon Sr. | 1 | |
| 10th | 2 | Anchors Aweigh | Earl Steffen | James G. Rowe Jr. | Greentree Stable | Head | |
| 11th | 8 | Surf Board | Clarence Watters | James G. Rowe Jr. | Greentree Stable | 2 | |
| 12th | 11 | Prince d'Amour | Eugene James | Nathaniel K. Beal | Joseph Leiter | 8 |
| Post | Horse | Win | Place | Show | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Twenty Grand | $ 3.76 | 3.00 | 2.60 | |
| 1 | Sweep All | 15.58 | 7.16 | ||
| 10 | Mate | 3.62 |