The Kentucky Oaks began as a companion to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, much as the English Oaks at Epsom serves as the female version of the prestigious Derby.

In the mid-1970s, a crafty but achy-armed left-handed pitcher named Tommy John faced the prospect of surgery to extend his career in Major League Baseball. His surgeon, Dr. Frank Jobe, devised a new way to treat John’s ailment, using a tendon elsewhere in his patient’s body to replace a damaged ulnar collateral ligament. The new technique proved a stroke of genius as it not only allowed John to resume his career, it also saved the career of a long list of pitchers in future years.

Today, Jobe’s breakthrough surgical procedure is known as Tommy John Surgery.