Kentucky

‘If these artifacts could speak.’ Take a look at 7 iconic artifacts in Kentucky Derby history

Published

2 years ago

April 16, 2024

Press Room

‘If these artifacts could speak.’ Take a look at 7 iconic artifacts in Kentucky Derby history

The Kentucky Derby has left quite a trail in its 149 runnings.

While dust certainly settles on the track, artifacts associated with the Run for the Roses can linger for decades.

Stories and memories live on in the countless collectible Kentucky Derby cups that fill cupboards or hats that rest in closets, but some objects carry a whole different weight and symbolism.

A few years ago Jessica Whitehead, the curator of collections for the Kentucky Derby Museum, told me the American flag that flew over Churchill Downs in 1937 was one of the most celebrated artifacts in the museum’s 20,000-piece collection. The Kentucky Derby was nearly canceled that year because the Ohio River flooded and devastated Louisville but the race went on because Kentucky’s governor at the time delivered a morale-boosting speech insisting the event was a symbol of unity.

Like that flag, so many of the objects in the museum seem ordinary or unremarkable, until you think about what they have to say about the era they’re from.

“Objects are so special because, they’re literal touchstones for history, and they’re literal touchstones for memory,” Whitehead said.

Kentucky Derby history runs in tandem with American history, so much of what’s happening in the world can be remembered through the lens of this historic race.

In honor of the 150th running, Whitehead has compiled a book titled “The History of the Kentucky Derby in 75 Objects.” Inspired by that 1937 flag, I asked her to share a few other stories hidden among the museum’s Kentucky Derby artifacts.

“If these artifacts could speak,” she gushed.

Here is a quick look at some extremely humble but very telling pieces of Kentucky Derby history.

1870s: Renderings of the original Clubhouse

Images of the earliest days of Churchill Downs, which was known originally as The Louisville Jockey Club, are difficult to come by. Photography was extremely limited when the track opened in 1875, Whitehead said, so one of the best ways to understand what life was like at the track is hand-drawn renderings.

The Clubhouse was the most exclusive part of the track in the late 19th century, and it was where all the movers and shakers of the day practiced their social sport in between races. These drawings, which are more than a century and a half old, offer a glimpse into what high society looked like for the earliest Kentucky Derby-goers. The Clubhouse had a kitchen all its own, and it was the only part of the track that had indoor bathrooms.

The drawings nod to both the Kentucky Derby experience in its earliest days and the technology of that period. The building was designed in a Carpenter Gothic style by John Andrewartha, a prolific architect in Louisville. The intricate detail in the trim on the structure was only possible because of scroll saws, which were semi-new tools of the day.

The Clubhouse wasn’t part of the Kentucky Derby for long. Once the Twin Spires grandstand was constructed in 1895, it was used for storage or as a residence for the track’s superintendent. By the 1910s it was demolished to make room for barns and outbuildings.

1875: Aristide’s booties

Even with all the glittering trophies and priceless artwork, Whitehead says some of the most prized objects in the collection look humble. The ankle boots once worn by the first Kentucky Derby winner Aristides tell a story of craftsmanship and how racehorses were cared for in 1875.

“These are just (hide) and leather little booties, and if you haven’t ever seen 19th-century horse gear, you might not know what you’re looking at,” Whitehead said.

Aristides wore these anklets in the same way that modern horses have gauze wrapped around their ankles. They would have been touched by Oliver Lewis, the Black jockey who won the first Derby, and by his celebrated Black trainer, Ansel Williamson. The booties are among the oldest objects in the museum’s collection.

“We don’t know if they were worn in the [first Kentucky] Derby,” Whitehead said. “But the fact that they were saved and hallowed this way suggests that certainly, he would have worn them at an important time in his career.”

1896: Isaac Murphy’s grave marker

Isaac Murphy’s legacy is imperative to the history of the Kentucky Derby, but for decades his grave was lost.

His gravestone helps tell the story of how the Jim Crow era, which enforced segregation, forced out the Black jockeys, who powered the racing industry in the late 19th century, Whitehead said. Murphy was a three-time Kentucky Derby winner and the son of a formerly enslaved person in Fayette County. He rode in 11 Kentucky Derby races.

When he died in 1896 — the same year that Black horsemen started getting pushed off the tracks by their white counterparts — Murphy was buried in African Cemetery No. 2 in Lexington, which fell into disrepair in the early 20th century. Grave markers were kicked down, destroyed, and moved from their original spots. His grave was considered lost until it was rediscovered in the 1960s. His body was then moved to a place of honor in the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.

The original gravestone was then restored and donated to the museum’s collection.

1913: Donerail’s scrapbook

Donerail, who won the 1913 Kentucky Derby, was the longest shot to ever win the race at 91-1 odds. His owner, Thomas Hayes, was so thrilled kept a scrapbook about the horse’s racing career, which is now part of the museum’s collection.

Hidden in those pages is the story of the track’s survival and hometown pride.

Today the Kentucky Derby is an international sensation, but it wasn’t always that way. Churchill Downs was in financial turmoil at the end of the 19th century, and it looked like the Kentucky Derby might have run its course. Matt Winn, the former director of Churchill Downs, gets most of the credit for reviving the track and the race, but Whitehead said, he also got a lot of help from some incredible horses, like Donerail.

“These were stories that spoke to more than just horse racing fans or gamblers,” Whitehead said. “These were stories that started to speak to the American public in ways that were beyond just horseracing.”

Donerail’s jockey, Roscoe Goose, had grown up in Louisville on Third Street near Churchill Downs, and there was an immense sense of local pride swelling around his Kentucky Derby win. Inside the scrapbook is a letter to Hayes from a local shopkeeper, who states that they were so thrilled they decorated the shop in Donerail’s colors.

1934: Brookmeade Stable Jockey Silks

Isabel Dodge Sloane owned Brookmeade Stable and her horse Cavalcade, won the Kentucky Derby in 1934. These are the jockey silks worn by Mack Garner that represent her colors and win.

A man’s jockey silks might seem like an unusual symbol of women’s strides in the male-dominated horseracing industry, but Whitehead says these point to the story of the earliest women horse owners involved in the Kentucky Derby. They first came on the scene in the early 20th century, but it wasn’t until the 1920s and 1930s that women owning racehorses became a more acceptable practice, particularly on the East Coast.

Sloane was also a fashion icon, who helped set the stage for women’s sportswear at the track.

1958: Tim Tam’s horseshoes

Today, Latin American jockeys are a crucial part of horseracing, but that wasn’t the case in the earliest Kentucky Derby races. José “Joe” Rodriguez was a Cuban trailblazer for Latinx jockeys in the United States throughout the 1920s and 1930s, but a Latin American jockey wouldn’t win the Kentucky Derby until Ismael “Milo” Valenzuela road to victory on Tim Tam in 1958. The Kentucky Derby Museum has Tim Tam’s horseshoes in its collection.

“He was the first Latin American winner of the Kentucky Derby, which of course has huge ramifications on the history of the sport,” Whitehead explained. “After that, the trend went significantly toward Latin, Central American and South American horsemen.”

Valenzuela also won The Preakness in 1958. His earnings in his career topped $20 million.

2020: Hats and masks

The museum focuses on preserving the Kentucky Derby’s past, but that also involves collecting objects that help tell its story in the future. The past decade has seen many highs and lows between the COVID-19 pandemic, the racial justice protests, and two disqualifications of winners, among other circumstances.

“We’re still so close to it, that I think we’re going to be trying to understand this period for a long time,” Whitehead said.

It’s always difficult to guess what artifacts will be important down the line, Whitehead said, but the hats and masks worn at the races in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic undeniably speak volumes about the culture of the era.

“People are going to look back at 2020 and 2021, and go ‘What the heck was going on there,’” Whitehead said. “And we’re really fortunate to have some examples in our collection that can help shed light on that and tell those stories later on.”

Features columnist Maggie Menderski writes about what makes Louisville, Southern Indiana and Kentucky unique, wonderful, and occasionally, a little weird. If you’ve got something in your family, your town or even your closet that fits that description — she wants to hear from you. Say hello at mmenderski@courier-journal.com or 502-582-4053. Follow along on Instagram @MaggieMenderski.

Source link

Click to comment

Kentucky

Even Indiana-Kentucky basketball rivalry couldn’t resist HeisMendoza chants

Published

2 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

Even Indiana-Kentucky basketball rivalry couldn’t resist HeisMendoza chants

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Fernando Mendoza’s Heisman Trophy triumph made noise as far afield as Rupp Arena on Saturday night.

Indiana could not claim too many fans in the building, in the Hoosiers’ first regular-season game against Kentucky in 14 years, unsurprising given the venue. But the ones who made the trip east on I-64 made themselves heard more than once during a 72-60 loss.

That included what has become a familiar chant among IU fans, one that broke out not long into the game and yet owing absolutely nothing to what was happening on the floor.

As news filtered through the arena that Mendoza had won his program’s first Heisman Trophy, fans seated in small clusters — including one group just a few feet away from the media seating area — began loudly chanting “Heis-Mendoza!” at the news.

It was the latest reminder of IU’s brave new world, with football and basketball co-existing so significantly, so late into the calendar. Curt Cignetti’s team, the No. 1 seed in this year’s College Football Playoff, will next play in the Rose Bowl, on New Year’s Day in Los Angeles.

The Hoosiers await the winner of the 8/9 game between Oklahoma and Alabama, in Norman.

In the meantime, they’ve spent the pre-Christmas period resting on the field, while cleaning up off it. Mendoza and Cignetti were named Big Ten offensive player and coach of the year, respectively, while Carter Smith won the conference’s lineman-of-the-year award.

Cignetti has also won multiple national coach-of-the-year awards, with more potentially on the way.

Mendoza added a clutch of trophies to his mantle this weekend in New York, including not just the Heisman Trophy but the Davey O’Brien Award for nation’s best quarterback and the Maxwell Award for nation’s best player. Mendoza is also the first Hoosier to win the O’Brien Award, and the second (after Anthony Thompson) to win the Maxwell.

More than a dozen Hoosiers have landed All-Big Ten and/or All-America honors since their Big Ten championship game triumph a week ago. A handful — including Smith, Aiden Fisher, Riley Nowakowski, Pat Coogan, Isaiah Jones and others — traveled to New York to celebrate with their quarterback.

Alberto Mendoza, Fernando Mendoza’s backup and younger brother, also made the trip. Both brothers became visibly emotional when Fernando referenced his younger brother during his acceptance speech.

The Hoosiers ultimately left Rupp Arena empty handed Saturday. But their football program once again left them celebrating, nonetheless.

Want more Hoosiers coverage? Sign up for IndyStar’s Hoosiers newsletter. Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the latest on IndyStar TV: Hoosiers.

Source link

Kentucky

After more than 40 years, a woman is reunited with her Kentucky family after allegedly being abducted by her mother | CNN

Published

14 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

After more than 40 years, a woman is reunited with her Kentucky family after allegedly being abducted by her mother | CNN

Three-year-old Michelle “Shelley” Newton poses for the camera in a sailor’s outfit, smiling wide, showing the gap between her two front baby teeth in an undated missing persons flyer from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

“Michelle was taken by her Mother,” it reads.

Now, Michelle, 46, is on a path to healing. Her mother is facing one charge.

The toddler’s vanishing took place in spring 1983, after her mother Debra Newton claimed she was “relocating to Georgia” from Louisville, Kentucky, “to begin a new job and prepare a new home for the family,” according to a Monday news release from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

CNN affiliate WLKY spoke to Joseph Newton, Debra’s husband and Michelle’s father, in 1986 after three years of searching for his daughter. He said the plan had been to move to Georgia. Debra took Michelle early, he added.

When he got there, he said they were gone.

Sometime between 1984 and 1985, a “final phone call” occurred between Debra and Joseph Newton, according to the sheriff’s office. Then, “both mother and daughter vanished.”

A custodial-interference indictment warrant soon followed.

“Wouldn’t you want your child back? At least to see her grow up?” Joseph Newton asked WLKY nearly four decades ago.

Police at one point thought it was possible Michelle was in Clayton County, Georgia, a suburban county almost 20 miles south of downtown Atlanta, according to the flyer.

Despite no signs of Michelle or her mother and Debra’s inclusion on the FBI’s “Top 8 Most Wanted parental-kidnapping fugitives,” Michelle’s case was dismissed in 2000 when “the Commonwealth” of Kentucky could not reach her father, the release said.

Five years later, Michelle, who would have been in her 20s, was removed from national child missing databases, according to the sheriff’s office.

The undated missing persons flyer says Michelle’s entry in the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children system and Debra’s warrant for custodial interference were recalled in 2005 “due to inaccurate information.”

The case was reindicted in 2016 after a family member “prompted detectives to reexamine the case.”

Earlier this year, 66-year-old Debra Newton had been spotted in Marion County, Florida, going by a different name.

When a Crime Stoppers tip identified the woman as a possible match, a US Marshals Task Force detective compared a recent photo to a 1983 image of Debra, and a Jefferson County detective “confirmed the resemblance,” the release said.

Authorities collected DNA from Debra’s sister in Louisville, and it showed a “99.9% match” to the woman in Florida.

When police arrived at her door, Michelle told WLKY that officers officially broke the news, “You’re not who you think you are. You’re a missing person. You’re Michelle Marie Newton.”

Michelle, who had been living under a different identity, called the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office upon discovering her true family history, according to the release.

On the other side of that phone call was a reunion with family she hadn’t seen in decades, including her father.

“She told us she didn’t realize she was a victim until she saw everything she had missed,” Chief Deputy Col. Steve Healey said.

“She’s always been in our heart,” Joseph Newton told CNN affiliate WLKY. “I can’t explain that moment of walking in and getting to put my arms back around my daughter.”

“I wouldn’t trade that moment for anything. It was just like seeing her when she was first born. It was like an angel.”

The resolution of a case spanning more than 40 years reflects a legacy of “extraordinary” detective work from the sheriff’s office, Healey said in the release, including its long-held philosophy that “no family seeking help is ever turned away.”

Healey says it also proves the importance of one courageous tipster. “People think calling in tips is ‘snitching.’ It isn’t,” he said. “You’re helping victims. You’re helping families. This case proves that one phone call can change a life.”

A family member of Debra’s traveled to Kentucky and posted her bond.

She has been arraigned on a felony charge of custodial interference, according to the Commonwealth’s Attorney Office in Jefferson County. Felony custodial-kidnapping charges carry no statute of limitations in Kentucky.

CNN has reached out to the Louisville-Jefferson County public defender’s office for comment on Debra Newton’s legal representation.

Debra Newton voluntarily appeared in court for her arraignment in Louisville, the release states.

Both Michelle and Joseph Newton were in attendance.

Michelle doesn’t appear to be taking sides. She told WLKY: “My intention is to support them both through this and try to navigate and help them both just wrap it up so that we can all heal.”

Source link

Kentucky

The Indiana game is a must-win for Kentucky, even in December

Published

1 day ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

The Indiana game is a must-win for Kentucky, even in December

One week ago, I wrote that Kentucky needed to show us something against Gonzaga. Unfortunately, it did, in a bad way. The Cats’ 35-point loss to the Bulldogs was their fourth to a ranked team this year. It was a performance so abysmal that the team got booed off the floor at halftime. Ever since, BBN has been in a tailspin, uncertainty about the program’s short-and long-term future hanging over the Bluegrass like a thick fog.

Kentucky has already gotten back in the win column, beating NC Central by 36 on Tuesday night; however, the true test of whether or not the Cats have reached rock bottom is Saturday vs. Indiana. The Hoosiers are 8-2, losing to Minnesota and Louisville last week. They rebounded from the 87-78 loss to the No. 6 Cards by routing Penn State 113-72 on Tuesday, thanks in large part to 44 points from Lamar Wilkerson, who picked Indiana over Kentucky out of the transfer portal this past April.

Both Kentucky and Indiana fell out of the AP and Coaches Polls this week, hovering near each other in the group of “others receiving votes.” KenPom ranks Kentucky No. 20 and Indiana No. 21. It gives the Cats a 4-point edge in Saturday’s game, while BetMGM goes a half-point higher at 4.5.

Thank goodness this one’s at Rupp because it’s a must-win, in more ways than one.

Resume

Let’s start with the most basic: the schedule. It may feel premature to start worrying about the NCAA Tournament, but we’re 10 games in, one-third of the way through the regular season, and Kentucky still doesn’t have a good win, going 0-4 in said opportunities. The highest-ranked team the Cats have beaten so far is Valparaiso, which ranks No. 191 in the NET rankings. All of Kentucky’s wins are in Quad 4, all of its losses in Quad 1. Quad 1 losses don’t hurt you a ton, but at some point, you have to pick up some meaningful wins to offset them.

The Cats have two more chances to pick up a Quad 1 win before SEC play begins: vs. Indiana and St. John’s. Over half of Kentucky’s conference games are in Quad 1; before starting that gauntlet, we need to see that the Cats are capable of winning one. Of the two coming up, beating Indiana in Rupp feels more manageable than Mark Pope taking down his old coach, Rick Pitino, and St. John’s next weekend in Atlanta.

Lamar Wilkerson

Much has been said about Kentucky’s struggles with recruiting this week. Most of that conversation has centered around high school recruiting, not the transfer portal, but Lamar Wilkerson is one of the biggest portal targets Mark Pope missed on this past offseason. Kentucky felt so good about landing him that Mark Pope took him to the winner’s circle at Keeneland. Instead, Wilkerson went to Indiana, the Hoosiers sweetening the pot at the last minute.

On Tuesday, Wilkerson set an Indiana record with 10 three-pointers in the win over Penn State. He is averaging 18.8 points and 3.5 made threes per game this season. There were other whiffs for Pope and his staff during the offseason, but Wilkerson will take center stage at Rupp tomorrow night, at a time when Kentucky’s $22 million team is the laughing stock of college basketball.

Please don’t let him get hot.

Lock in for the 2025 Kentucky Basketball season with KSR Plus! We’re giving you behind-the-scenes intel you won’t find anywhere else. Join the most passionate online community in the BBN during Mark Pope’s second season.

Fan fatigue

You don’t need me to tell you BBN is unhappy. The boos in Nashville were ugly proof of the unrest in the fanbase now. Concerns about recruiting and the school’s partnership with JMI, as outlined by Jacob Polacheck and Jack Pilgrim earlier this week, aren’t helping. Mark Pope struck a different tone on Tuesday night, using his bench to send messages to Kam Williams, Jaland Lowe, and Brandon Garrison, and biting back anger afterward as he talked about how his team continues to fall short of the standard. On the player side, Otega Oweh seemed to step up as a leader, scoring a season-high 21 points and insisting all is well in the locker room during interviews, one of which took place with his teammates surrounding him.

On Saturday, we get to see if those baby steps of progress are enough to avoid a fifth loss. Kentucky has already lost one home game this season, last week vs. North Carolina. Given all that’s happened since, there might be boos if the Cats pick up a second tomorrow night.

Fear of becoming Indiana

Indiana used to be one of Kentucky’s biggest rivals; for fans of a certain age, the Hoosiers may still be. Over the past 20 or so years, Indiana has faded to irrelevance. The Hoosiers haven’t gone to a Final Four since 2002. There’s a reason they put Christian Watford’s buzzer-beater vs. Kentucky in 2011 on a popcorn box; they haven’t had much else to celebrate.

As Kentucky fans, we’ve made our fair share of jokes about Indiana, but it’s not quite as funny now that the Cats haven’t gone to the Final Four in a decade, won an SEC regular-season championship since 2019-20, or an SEC Tournament title since 2017-18. For all our hopes that Mark Pope would be the one to turn it around, Kentucky still hasn’t won a big game this season. As Mark Story outlined in the Herald-Leader, Kentucky could be on the path to becoming the next Indiana, which makes Saturday’s game even bigger. With this being the first game in a four-year series, it could be an annual reminder if things keep trending in this direction.

So, please, Kentucky, win this basketball game. You can make it my early Christmas gift.

Source link