About the Kentucky Derby and Churchill Downs

Go for Gin. Behave Yourself. Foolish Pleasure. Bubbling Over.

No, they’re not the latest movies targeted to the Britney Spears generation. Nor are they the latest indie rock bands playing the New York City circuit. Believe it or not, they’re the names of some former winners of the Kentucky Derby, the most celebrated horse event in the U.S. And each spring, throngs of horse-racing enthusiasts, gambling fanatics and party goers with fabulous hats come to Churchill Downs, in Louisville, Kentucky, to not only see such horses compete in the most famous annual horse race, but to take part in a two-week celebration that extends beyond the boundaries of the horse track.

The race itself takes place on the first Saturday in May. It is limited to three-year-old thoroughbreds and is run on a mile-and-a-quarter track. The first winner was Aristides, who, in 1875, ran the course in just over two minutes and 37 seconds, earning $2,850. In 2002, War Emblem ran the course in just over two minutes and one second, winning $1,875,000. The fastest time was run by Secretariat in 1973, breaking the two-minute record by winning the race in 1:59.

Horse racing in Louisville dates back to 1783, when local sources reported that races were held on Market Street in the downtown area. Nearly a century later, while traveling in England and France in 1872, Colonel M. Lewis Clark, grandson of the famous explorer, created the Louisville Jockey Club for conducting race meets. When he returned from Europe, Clark developed his idea further by building a racetrack, which would eventually become known as Churchill Downs. Nearly a quarter century after the first Derby, this structure would be rebuilt and the grandstand would feature two spires constructed atop the roof. The twin spires would become one of the most recognizable symbols of Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby.

In addition to the twin spires, the Derby has acquired a number of other very visible symbols that are illustrious reminders of the competition’s unique history.

The Roses
Often referred to as the “Run for the Roses,” the race first established these flowers as part of the Derby celebration when they were presented to all the ladies attending a fashionable Louisville Derby party. The rose soon became the race's official flower. The rose garland first appeared in 1896 when the winner, Ben Brush, received a floral arrangement of white and pink roses. In 1925, New York sports columnist, Bill Corum, who would later be the president of Churchill Downs, was the first to dub the Kentucky Derby the "Run for the Roses." Today, a garland of 554 red roses is sewn into a green satin backing with the seal of the Commonwealth on one end and the twin spires and number of the running on the other.