Run for the Roses (song)

"Run for the Roses"
Single by Dan Fogelberg
from the album The Innocent Age
B-side	"The Sand And The Foam"
Released	1982
Genre	Soft rock, Country rock
Length	4:20
Label	Full Moon Records
Writer(s)	Dan Fogelberg
Producer(s)	Dan Fogelberg, Marty Lewis
Dan Fogelberg singles chronology
"Leader of the Band" (1981) "Run for the Roses" (1981) "Missing You" (1982)

"Run for the Roses" is a song on the album The Innocent Age, written and recorded by singer/songwriter Dan Fogelberg in 1981. Released as a single the following year, it peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[1] It has since been used as an unofficial theme for the Kentucky Derby. The chorus mentions "the chance of a lifetime in a lifetime of chance" at once describing the experience of horse racing and life itself.

The song was commissioned by the ABC television network for the 106th running of the Derby in 1980. It premiered on the network's Derby night special the night before. Fogelberg stated that it was written in two days.^[2]

Chart performance

Chart (1981–1982)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	18
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	3
Canadian RPM Top Singles	33
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks	1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	16

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

References

1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications)
2. "Dan Fogelberg Prodigy Chat transcript Treehouse.org". Retrieved 5/4/13. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)