Determine was sired by the British stallion Alibhai a son of the 1933 Epsom Derby and St. Leger Stakes winner Hyperion.
Her breeder, Dr. Eslie Asbury, used specially designed instruments to repair her palate in a unique operation, but she was never raced.
His breeder offered to take him back, but Crevolin refused, explaining that he might be letting a Kentucky Derby winner get away.
[3] In his two-year-old season Determine won prize money which totaled more than double his purchase price.
In more than one race, his small size got him through holes, and his light weight made him nimble in cramped situations.
But his trainer, Wille Molter, with a large stable to manage, was reluctant to take the risk, believing that the race was too hard on a young horse so early in the year.
On May 1, Determine, who had been flown in from California shortly before the race,[4] was ridden by Ray York in the 1954 Kentucky Derby.
Hasty Road was well in the lead, but Determine caught him 1/16 of a mile from the finish and won by a length and a half, becoming the first gray to win the Derby.
Molter had explained that as Determine was a late foal and had already run nine times in 1954, he did not want to risk over-racing him.