Churchill Downs

Barbaro was an American thoroughbred racehorse who decisively won the Kentucky Derby in 2006 but shattered his leg two weeks later in the Preakness Stakes, ending his racing career.

Scott is in the gates!

2013 Kentucky Derby Winner - Orb

Jockey silks

Churchill Downs "Inside the Gates" Tour

All money that exchanges hands is cash!  How much money is that?  Saturday of 2013, $130.5 million dollars was wagered, second highest day in derby history.

The Twin Spires symbolize Churchill Downs, the Kentucky Derby, and thoroughbred racing.

Winner's Silks

Paddock

Paddock Stables; when you watch the Kentucky Derby on tv, this is where all the jockeys and horses are found before the race.

Best lanes according to the jockeys.

Happy 6th Birthday, Cambria from stall number 6!  The year you were born Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby!

Inside Churchill Downs

Gate 17 to Churchill Downs.

Equine glass sculpture hanging in the ground-level entry rotunda at Gate 17, Churchill Downs.

Aristides

Oliver Lewis was first winning jockey of the Kentucky Derby.  At the first Kentucky Derby 13 out of 15 jockeys were black.  Among the first 28 derby winners, 15 were African Americans.

"The Mansion"

Interior Premium Boxes

Looking out at the finish line from the Premium Boxes.

Churchill Down Finish Line Pole used from 1956 until 1985.

Me in the Finish Line Suites.  This is the first year the Kentucky Derby can be viewed on the new HD video screen.  It's about the size of 3 NBA basketball courts!  That's what they're working on in the background.

Matt Winn Dining Room

Found on the 3rd floor of the Clubhouse.

Matt Winn was a prominent personality in thoroughbred horse racing and president of Churchill Downs.

 

Rug in the Matt Winn Dining Room.

Secretariat photograph

Place your bets here...

Mural of Derby Owners

Painted by Pierre Bellocq or otherwise known in racing circles as Peb.

Finish Line

Grass Infield where 80,000 spectators watch the Kentucky Derby.  What does it cost to stand in this area?  About $100 dollars.

Winner's Circle will be filled with red flowers on Derby day.  The most common flowers used have been begonias and geraniums.

Mural of Derby Jockeys

Willie Shoemaker 

Interior hallway of the Jockey Club.

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Jockey Club logo

Looking out of the arched window of the original building onto the paddock.

The original Jockey Club building was designed by architect Meriweather Lewis Clark Jr., grandson of William Clark, of Lewis and Clark fame.

Looking from the balcony under the twin spires to the paddock.

Statue of Aristides, first winner of the Kentucky Derby.

Jockey Pat Day is the all-time leading rider at Churchill Downs with 2,481 wins and 155 stakes victories.  Pat Day stood only 4 foot, 11 inches and weighed 111 pounds!

Hill Gail won the Kentucky Derby the year I was born!  All the winners are posted around the grounds from Aristides in 1875 to Orb in 2013.

Museum Derby Hats

I've got my Derby hat!  Pick your favorite below.  All these hats were on display in the museum along with entire outfits worn by celebrities.  I tried my hat on in the gift shop - wearing a hat to the Kentucky Derby brings you good luck, you know!

Queen Elizabeth II wore this hat when she attended the Kentucky Derby in 2007.

Some hats are silly!

 

These Mary Poppins inspired outfits were worn by father and daughter, Larry and Dannielynn Birkhead in 2013. 

Got you hat?  Plan your party and you're off to the races!  Kentucky Derby falls on May 3rd this year, don't miss it!  I'm rooting for Rosie Napravnik, the only woman jockey in the race, on Mylute.  Maybe she'll be the first woman to win the Kentucky Derby!