Kentucky Derby ABC’sby Mrs. Nall’s students

Creekside Elementary, Hardin Co.

A is for Arcaro, EddieFeb. 1916 – Nov. 1997

• In a span of 18 years, the rider known as “The Master” rode a record 17 winners in races of the Triple Crown and became the only jockey to ride two Triple Crown winners.

• He won the Kentucky Derby 5 times, a record he shares with Bill Hartack.

• Arcaro was known to be smart, aggressive, strong, and a real team player.

A is for Aristides

• Aristides is the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby, on May 17, 1875.

• There were 15 horses running in the first Kentucky Derby.

• 14 of the 15 jockeys were African-American.

• The purse for the first Derby was $2,850.

B is for Balloon Glow• It has more than 50,000 fans

annually.

• It is free if you are wearing a 2009

Pegasus pin.

• The parade has been held at

Broadway at 5 P.M for several

years.

• The glow is held the Friday one

week before the Derby.

B is for Belle of Louisville• The Belle of Louisville is a

steam boat.

• In 1963 Belle of Louisville won its first boat race.

• There will be an Oaks Brunch Cruise on May 1st.

B is for Blanket Of Roses• The garland of the roses is completely hand

crafted.

• The same pattern has been used for over 67 years, and was first molded in 1932.

• It takes 80 hours of prep work to make it and 10 to 12 hours of stitching on Derby Eve night.

• Each year, 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.

• The Kroger Company has been the official florist of the Kentucky Derby since 1987.

C is for Celebrities• Many celebrities visit the

Kentucky Derby each year.

• Two Presidents and a future President attended to the 109th

Kentucky Derby. They were Jimmy Carter, Gerald R. Ford, and our President at present, George W. Bush.

• In 1889, bank and train robbers, Frank and Jesse James attended the derby.

C is for Churchill

Downs

❖Churchill Downs has 47 barns and 1404 stalls.

❖The seating is 50,000 seats.

❖Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr. started Churchill downs.

D is for Delta Queen• The Delta Queen was one of the 2 steamboats

that raced in the Great Steam Boat race. It raced against the Belle of Louisville.

• The Delta Queen cruised the Mississippi River and on its regular schedule, with cruises ranging from New Orleans to Memphis, to St. Louis, to St. Paul, to Cincinnati, and many more.

• Sadly, it is no longer in use.

F is for Festival• The Festival events run two weeks

before Derby day.

• The festival carries Thunder Over

Louisville, with the largest

fireworks display in the world.

• The Pegasus Parade, hot air

balloon race, Governor's breakfast

and an air show are other

activities during the week.

G is for the Great Balloon Race

• The Great Balloon Race is held on Saturday, one week before the Derby.

• The first Balloon Race was held in 1975.

• The balloons lift off in aerial chase of the Hare balloon. It lands and lays out a large fabric X.

• The hounds (the competing balloons) follow and throw a bag of Bluegrass seed at the target.

H is for Hartack, Billb. Dec. 9, 1932, Colver, PA

• Hartack and Arcaro are the only jockeys ever to win five Kentucky Derbies.

• The very intelligent Hartack was noted for his pride, honesty, and outspokenness

• Hartack was a rider for the famous Calumet Farms through most of the 1950s. Hartack liked to take a horse to the lead and hold it throughout a race.

• During his American riding career, Hartack rode 4,272 winners in 21,535 mounts, a percentage of 19.8.

H is for Hats

• Wearing festive hats is a long-time Derby tradition.

• Many people loan their hats to the Derby Museum.

• The hat is the one of the most popular sights of the Kentucky Derby.

AND EVEN WILDER HATS!

H is for Hot Air Balloon Race

• In the Hot Air Balloon Race each pilot tried to drop a bag of bluegrass seeds over a vinyl X.

• The great Balloon race was first held in 1973.

• Seven balloons were launched from Iroquois Park.

• The race is held the Saturday before the Derby.

J is for Jockey• The shirt and hat worn by the jockey are

called silks.

• The colors on the clothing represents the horse farm of the horses owner.

• The silks are limited to two colors on their shirt.

• Each jockey weighs up to 110 pounds each including their gear.

• The equipment that the horse must carry also includes the saddle,whip,boots,safety helmet,and silks.

• Each colt must carry 126 pounds.

• Each filly must carry 121 pounds

K is for Kentucky Derby

• The Kentucky Derby is the first leg of the Triple Crown.

• It is always held on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs in Louisville..

• The race is limited to thoroughbred horses, three years of age.

L is for Lukas, D. Wayne

• One trainer, D. Wayne Lukas, has

won the Triple Crown with two

different horses, Thunder Gulch

and Timber Country, winning the

three races in 1995. While this is

not declared a Triple Crown

officially, it is unique as a trainer

that he is the only trainer to win

the three races in a calendar year

with different horses.

M is for Millionaire’s Row

• "Millionaire's Row" refers to the expensive box seats that attract the rich, the famous, and the well-connected. Elegant women appear in designer outfits, often accessorized with large, elaborate hats.

• Television reporters often interview the celebrities seen in Millionaire’s Row.

M is for

My Old Kentucky Homehttp://www.kentuckyderby.com/2004/derby_experience/the_song.html

• Although there is no definitive history on the playing of the Stephen Foster ballad as a Derby Day tradition, it is believed to have had its origin in 1921 for the 47th running of the classic.

• My Old Kentucky Home, the state song, is sung or played as the horses are led to the starting gates, immediately before the start of the Kentucky Derby.

• Since 1936, with only a few exceptions, the song has been performed by the University of Louisville Marching Band.

O is for the Oaks• The Kentucky Oaks is a race for three-year-

old Thoroughbred fillies, run annually at Churchill Downs, the day (Friday) before the Derby.

• The race currently covers 1⅛ miles at Churchill Downs; carry 121 pounds.

• The Star Gazer Lily did not become the official flower of the Kentucky Oaks until 1991.

• A total of 133 lilies are sewn into a white fabric backing which, like the green satin of the Derby garland, is embroidered in white-on-white with the Commonwealth's seal at one end and the twin spires and number of

the running at the other.

P is for Pegasus Parade• The parade is held on the Thursday

before the Derby.

• Its crowd is estimated at 250,000 –

300,000 people.

• Viewers will see floats, bands, and

equestrians.

Run for the Roses• The race is known in the United States as "The

Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports" for its

approximate duration, and is also called "The

Run for the Roses" for the blanket of roses

draped over the winner.

• Pop vocalist Dan Fogelberg composed a song by

that title for the 1980 running of the race.

http://www.stlyrics.com/songs/d/danfogelberg98

5/runfortheroses45494.html

S is for Silks• The silks are the shirt and

hat worn by jockeys and are

limited to two colors.

• The colors on the silks

represent the horse’s owner.

• Most jockeys have nylon for

silks. Real silk or satin is

more expensive

http://www.customsilks.com/products.html

S is for Steamboat Race.•Each year, the Belle of Cincinnati or the Delta

Queen recreated historic steamboat races during

the Kentucky Derby Festival, when they raced with

the Belle of Louisville on the Ohio in the Great

Steamboat Race. The winner of the annual race

received a trophy of golden antlers, which was

mounted on the pilot house until the next race.

•The race was held the Wednesday immediately

before the Kentucky Derby race.

T is for Thunder Over Louisville• Thunder Over Louisville is the

opening event for the two-week derby festival.

• The air show consists of aerobatic acts, military air craft, and a skydiving team.

• The air show lasts all afternoon over the Ohio River, to a crowd of app. 750,000.

• Thunder is the largest annual firework show in the United States.

• The fireworks last app. 28 minutes and shot from the Second Street Bridge.

T is for Triple Crown•The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing

(Triple Crown for short) consists of three races for

three-year-old thoroughbred horses, which include

the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the

Belmont.

•Winning all three of these races is considered the

greatest accomplishment of a thoroughbred

racehorse, paying the owner of the winning horse a

bonus of $5 million.

•In recent years, the triple crown has become a very

rare achievement, and in fact has not been

accomplished at all since 1978, when Affirmed

won all three.

T is for Trophy

• The cup and other decorations on

the trophy are 14 karat gold.

• The trophy is given to the winning

owner in the winners circle.

• The trophy is 22 inches tall and 56

ounces , has a horseshoe shaped

handles, and includes a horse and

rider.

• The trophy has been changed twice, for

special anniversaries.

T is for Twin Spires

• The Twin Spires were created by

24 year old draftsman, Joseph

Dominic Baldez.

• The Twin Spires of Churchill

Downs are one of the most

recognized in all of sports.

• The Grandstand was originally

constructed in 1894-95.

W is for Winner’s Circle

• The winning owner, horse,

and jockey receive the trophy

in the Winner’s Circle at the

end of the Derby race.

• A blanket of roses in placed

on the winning horse.

•The governor of Kentucky

presents the trophy.

Credits• Information and pictures taken

from churchilldowns.com , kdf.org, derbymuseum.org

• http://www.horse-races.net/library/tc05/tc-sunking.htm

• http://www.ticketsquick.com/KentuckyDerby.shtm

• http://www.horse-races.net/library/derby06-contenders.htm

• http://www.kentuckyderby.info/kentuckyderby-trophy.php

• http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/images/Curlin-coady.jpg

• http://www.kentuckyderby.info/kentuckyderby-trophy.php

• http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2006/images/derby_coverage/derby_news/derby_trophy.jpg

• http://www.horse-races.net/library/derby05-results.htm

• http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com/2001/TRAVEL/NEWS/05/02/kentucky.derby/vert.winnerscircle.jpg

• http://www.eventticketscenter.com/ResultsTicket.aspx?evtid=356054

• http://z.about.com/d/horseracing/

http://www.tristateracetrack.com/shared/content/Page_objects/AssocImage/Horse-Closeup.jpg

http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2004/derby_experience/the_song.html

• Presentation created by Tracy Taylor and adapted by Becky Stephens, Catherine Bright, and updated by Kathye D. Greene (with ideas Suzannah Whitfield and new pictures from Amy Shipley).

Credits, cont.• http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/fea

tures/00014070.html

• http://www.hickoksports.com/biogra

ph/hartackbill.shtml

• www.kdf.org/ - 31k - Apr 28,

2007

• www.churchilldowns.com/

• http://www.kentuckyderby.com/200

2/derby_experience/photo_gallery/