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Kentucky Derby Museum Is Filled With Dreams
by Pat Lindsey
A trip to the Kentucky Derby has been at the top of my bucket list for a very long time, but a visit to the Kentucky Derby Museum and a barn and backside tour were as close as I could get to the big race this year. We drove from St. Louis to Louisville two weeks before the Derby for the annual kickoff called Louisville Thunder. Thousands of people gather along the Ohio River on that Saturday to watch a spectacular air show and an outstanding fireworks display. It also gives them a two-week window of partying that leads up to the big race race at nearby Churchill Downs.
Churchill Downs, although old and a little worn, is just as impressive as I had imagined it would be. We were greeted at the entrance by a life-size statue of Barbaro, the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner who shattered his leg during the Preakness and then had to be euthanized several months later. Barbaro is just one of many thoroughbreds whose histories are hailed and preserved within the walls of the Kentucky Derby Museum.
Inside the museum, we were escorted to a huge room where an excellent 30-minute film of Kentucky Derby highlights was projected onto a 360-degree screen. The movie currently features Nyquist, last year’s Derby winner, and follows the life of a race horse from birth to Derby Day. There are also plenty of glimpses of my personal favorite, Secretariat, and interviews with jockeys and trainers and shots of owners experiencing a Derby win. When “My Old Kentucky Home” is played, the words are projected onto the screen and you don’t have to be a Kentuckian to feel tears well up in your eyes. That got us into the mood for our escorted van tour of the track, paddock, stables, grandstands, and glory of the backside of Churchill Downs.
Our guide and van driver for the backside tour was a seasoned horsewoman and student at the University of Louisville, who showered us with nuggets of information about the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the first Saturday in May. She introduced us to her favorite ponies, the horses that escort the Derby horses around the track and into the gate, and pointed out that the hay for the horses is hung on the wall outside the horses’ stalls so that it doesn’t get contaminated. She shed some light on horse psychology and the track culture and showed us the living quarters for all those who attend to the horses.
At one point, we got out of the van and stood in a viewing area opposite the grandstands to get an up close and personal view of the track and winner’s circle. As we were heading back to the museum, some of the horses were being led out of their stalls to go “hot walking.” It’s very serious business and there are plenty of rules and routines to follow during the care and training of a potential Derby winner.
After our backside tour, we were handed off to another guide who took us on foot to the front of Churchill Downs, where we saw rows and rows of betting windows and heard an explanation of the financial aspects of the race. Millions of dollars change hands on Derby Day, but from the looks of some of the outfits worn by the women in the grandstand, a lot of money is deposited with millinery and couture shops before the race.
Many of those outlandish hats are on display inside the Kentucky Derby Museum, a premiere attraction of Louisville. The bi-level museum is next door to Churchill Downs and is currently featuring the Man O’ War 100th anniversary (of his birth) exhibit to honor the legendary career of the race horse considered by many to be the best of the 20th century. Other exhibits include an array of jockey silks, trophies, and horse-racing artifacts. There are also interactive displays, including a horse racing simulator where riders can see how fast they can go. In addition to seeing all the roses, I enjoyed being able to walk through an actual gate that had been used to line up the horses.
Experiencing the Kentucky Derby Museum and Churchill Downs gave me a true understanding of how dreams have guided so many of the lives that have passed through those gates. There have been dreams of owning or training or riding a champion thoroughbred. There have
been dreams of sitting in Millionaires’ Row. There have been dreams of winning. As for me, I’ll continue to dream about sitting in the grandstand on Derby Day some year, all decked out in my broad-rimmed hat and summer dress and sipping on something other than a mint julep. It is those dreams that make the Kentucky Derby “the greatest two minutes in sports history.”
General admission to the Kentucky Derby Museum is $15. The barn, backside tour, and museum ticket is $40. For more information, go to www.derbymuseum.org or call 502-637-1111.
