The Kentucky Derby Trophy is a set of four trophies that are awarded to the winning connections of America's most famous race: the grade one $3,000,000

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-yea ...

. The owner receives a gold trophy while the trainer, the jockey and the breeder win a silver half size replica of the main gold trophy. The trophy itself has been run for since the 50th running of the

in 1924.

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was p ...

Race Course of

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

has annually presented a gold trophy to the winning owner of the famed "Run for the Roses." Ky Derby Trophy

Early history

There is no record whether a trophy was presented to the winner of the first Derby in 1875. There is evidence that trophy presentations were sporadically made between 1876 and 1924. In 1924,

Matt Winn Martin J. "Matt" Winn (June 30, 1861 – October 6, 1949) was a prominent personality in American thoroughbred horse racing history and president of Churchill Downs racetrack, home to the Kentucky Derby race that he made famous. In 2017, he was ...

, who was the president of

at the time commissioned a standard design from artist George L. Graff for the 1925 50th "Golden Anniversary" of the Derby.

Design changes over time

Outside of the jeweled embellishments that were added to note special Derby anniversaries in 1949 (75th), 1974 (100th), and 1999 (125th), only one change has been made to the original design. For the 125th Kentucky Derby in 1999, Churchill Downs officials decided to defer to racing lore and change the direction of the decorative horseshoe. The horseshoe, fashioned from 18-karat gold, had pointed downward on each of the trophies since 1924. To commemorate Derby 125 the change was made and the horseshoe was turned 180 degrees so that its ends pointed up. The trophy now annually incorporates the horseshoe with the ends pointing up. Racing superstition decrees that if the horseshoe is turned down all the luck will run out.

Dimensions and manufacture

The trophy was supplied by Lemon & Son, a Louisville jeweller (and the oldest retail business in Louisville) from 1924 until 1999. From 1975 onwards, the trophy has been manufactured by the New England Sterling company, located in North Attleboro, Massachusetts. The trophy, which is topped by an 18-karat gold horse and rider, includes horseshoe shaped handles, is 22 inches tall and weighs 56 ounces, excluding its jade base. Most of it is 14-karat gold; some components are 14-karat green gold. To complete the trophy by April, construction begins during the fall of the previous year; the completed trophy takes approximately 2000 hours of labor. Typically 29 parts are combined into 19 components which comprise the trophy. Various construction techniques are used, including casting (the horse and rider that top the trophy), stamping and metal spinning. The trophy is believed to be the only solid gold trophy that is annually awarded the winner of a major American sporting event. As of 2008, its material raw value was $90,000.The Kentucky Derby Media Guide, Kentucky Derby 135, May 2, 2009, page 236, 2008 Kentucky Derby chart

Presentations of trophy

Each year there are three separate presentations of the trophy. The first presentation of the gold Kentucky Derby Trophy is when it is officially presented to Churchill Downs race course on the last Saturday of April escorted by the Kentucky

Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized militia force and a federal military reserve force of the United States Army. They are simultaneously part of two different organizations: the Army N ...

soldiers in between races on the undercard of the

Derby Trial Stakes The Pat Day Mile Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on dirt over a distance of one mile scheduled on Kentucky Derby Day at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The current purse is $500,000. History ...

on opening day of the spring meet each year. The second presentation is the one that is most familiar to the public on the first Saturday of May. It is when the Governor of the

Commonwealth of Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

and the Chairman of

Churchill Downs Incorporated Churchill Downs Incorporated is the parent company of Churchill Downs. The company has evolved from one racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky, to a multi American-state-wide, publicly traded company with racetracks, casinos and an online wagering comp ...

awards the trophies to the winning connections about ten minutes after the race is declared official on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

network TV. The third and final presentation of the trophies is on "Alumni Day" on the Saturday of June following the Belmont Stakes, exactly six weeks after the race. The winning owner, trainer, jockey and breeder are all invited back to receive the trophies they earned earlier but have since been engraved with precise information engraved on each award. Churchill celebrates its third largest draw at the gate when the trophies are presented on "

Stephen Foster Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known also as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for his parlour and minstrel music during the Romantic period. He wrote more than 200 songs, inc ...

" day. That day includes two opportunities for the public to meet winning alumni of the Kentucky Derby. The first has many former winning jockeys hold an autograph session. The second has the winning connections participating in a news conference and trophy presentation in between races on the undercard of the

Stephen Foster Handicap The Stephen Foster Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three and older over a distance of miles on the dirt run annually in mid-June at Churchill Downs Spring Meet in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is named in ...

, which is a grade one race for older horses at the Derby distance of one mile and a quarter.

"Run for the Roses"

The use of roses was first established as part of the Derby celebration when they were presented to all the ladies attending a fashionable Louisville Derby party in 1883. The roses were such a sensation, that the president of Churchill Downs,

Colonel Lewis Clark Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

, adopted the rose as the race's official flower. The rose garland now synonymous with the

first appeared in the 1896 when the winner,

Ben Brush Ben Brush (1893–1918) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1896 Kentucky Derby. Walter Vosburgh, for whom the Vosburgh Stakes is named, said Bramble was "a breed as tough as pine nuts." On May 6, 1896, Bramble and Rose ...

, received a floral arrangement of white and pink roses. KY Derby ROSES 1

In 1904 the red rose became the official flower of the Kentucky Derby. The tradition was strengthened when, in 1925, New York sports columnist

Bill Corum Martene Windsor "Bill" Corum" (July 20, 1895 – December 16, 1958) was a sports columnist for the ''New York Evening Journal'' and the ''New York Journal-American'', a radio and television sportscaster, and racetrack executive. He served as pres ...

, later the president of Churchill Downs, dubbed the Kentucky Derby the "Run for the Roses." The garland as it exists today was first introduced in 1932 for the 58th running won by

Burgoo King Burgoo King (1929–1946) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the first two legs of the U.S. Triple Crown series but who did not run in the final race, the Belmont Stakes. Background Owned by Colonel Edward R. Bradley and foaled at ...

Composition and construction of Garland

Each year, a garland of more than 400 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. Each garland is also adorned with a "Crown" of roses, green fern and ribbon. The "Crown," a single rose pointing upward in the center of the garland, symbolizes the struggle and heart necessary to reach the winners' circle. Each year the Governor and other dignitaries present the winning jockey with a bouquet of 60 long stemmed roses wrapped in ten yards of ribbon. For several years, owners of the Derby winner also received a silk replica of the garland, but since Grindstone's 1996 victory, the actual garland has made the trip to Danville, Kentucky to be freeze-dried. Some owners have even gone as far as to have a flower dipped in silver. A silver dipped flower from the garland of Gato del Sol, the 1982 winner, is on display in the Kentucky Derby Museum. The

Kroger The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States. Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cinci ...

Company has been the official florist of the Kentucky Derby since 1987. After taking over the duties from the Kingsley Walker florist, Kroger began constructing the prestigious garland in one of its local stores for the public to view on Derby Eve. The preservation of the garland and crowds of spectators watching its construction are a testament to the prestige and mystique of the Garland of Roses.

References

{{Kentucky Derby Winners Horse racing in the United States Churchill Downs Horse racing awards American horse racing trophies