The Kentucky Derby has been run since 1875, but the “Run for the Roses” part? That didn’t start until a few years later and in true Derby fashion; it began with a party when a New York City socialite decided the party needed some flowers for the ladies.  

In 1883, Evander Berry Wall showed up to a post-Derby gathering and handed red roses to all the ladies present.  

Wall was a well-known New York socialite, who would show up everywhere, and everyone knew him, and he knew everyone. He probably wasn’t thinking about the actual race, but his gesture of giving a red rose to every woman at the party caught the eye of Churchill Downs founder Col. Meriwether Lewis Clark.  

By 1884, Clark had declared the rose the official flower of the Kentucky Derby, according to Churchill Downs’ official history. But it still took a few years before that was officially reflected in the Winner’s Circle.  

The first recorded account of a Derby winner receiving the collar of roses was in 1896. Ben Brush was awarded a collar of pink and white roses that year, according to the Kentucky Derby media guide.  

Then a sportswriter got involved and it became history.  

Bill Corum, a World War I veteran and Purple Heart honoree, was covering the Derby for a New York newspaper by the mid-1920s, picked up on the rose theme. In May 1925, he watched the roses fill the Churchill Downs winner’s circle and wrote what became one of the most durable phrases in American sports: “Run for the Roses.” 

It stuck. And so did Corum.  

He kept calling it the Run for the Roses in his columns and when calling the Derby on the radio. In 1950, he actually became the president of Churchill Downs, succeeding his friend Col. Matt Winn.  

Remarkably, Corum never mentioned the phrase in his autobiography.  

The garland that is now draped over the winner, didn’t take its modern form until 1932, according to Churchill Downs. A Louisville florist named Grace Walker was commissioned to create something permanent for the 1932 race. She stitched more than 500 dark red roses onto a green satin cloth-backed blanket and draped all 40 pounds of it over that year’s winner, Burgoo King.  

Walker’s shop, Kingsley Walker Florist, became the keepers of the garland for more than 50 years. She took care to measure horses so that no thorn, stem or wire frame would poke a horse during the celebration. The most she charged Churchill Downs for her creations was for $3,600 for flowers, labor, delivery and vases for the winner’s circle.  

And then Kroger picked up the tradition in 1987.  

Today, those roses are still hand stitched onto a green satin backing. It now bears the seal of the Commonwealth of Kentucky on one end, and the famous Twin Spires of Churchill Downs on the other. Each stem has a hidden water vial to keep the roses fresh.  

Now, it’s part of the ceremony.  

Every first Saturday in May, the garland travels to Churchill Downs via police escort. It arrives at 10 a.m. local time and sits on public display before post time and is then draped over the winner in a tradition that has become synonymous with the Kentucky Derby.  

Kentucky football is rolling on the recruiting trail right now. Four-star safety Marquis Bryant became the latest top target to join the 2027 high school class. Could the Cats get another big commitment before the Kentucky Derby arrives on Saturday? A major target is ready to come off the board.

Ramsey (N.J.) Don Bosco Prep EDGE Aidan O’Neil will making his commitment announcement before his scheduled summer official visits in June. This blue-chip recruit is going live on Friday. This announcement will be live on the 247 Sports YouTube feed at 10 a.m. ET before the Oaks Day action really gets rolling at Churchill Downs.

Aidan O’Neil is the No. 110 overall recruit in the 2027 Rivals Industry Ranking. O’Neil is a top-five player in New Jersey. Notre Dame is currently the favorite to land a commitment from this four-star prospect. However, both Kentucky and Penn State have June official visits scheduled. Those are the schools in O’Neil’s final three.

The Wildcats host this defensive end for a junior day visit in January and a spring practice visit in April. O’Neil recently made a trip to South Bend in April. Marcus Freeman‘s program has made a big push in the Mid-Atlantic to win this recruitment.

Yet another top Kentucky target will come off the board before the weekend officially arrives.

Kentucky’s 2027 high school recruiting class

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From Donerail’s 91-1 miracle in 1913 to Rich Strike shocking the world in 2022, the Kentucky Derby has a long history of making believers out of longshot backers. Saturday could be next.

The Kentucky Derby favorite hasn’t won since Justify in 2018. Last year, Sovereignty was at 7-1 odds and rallied from the back of the pack on a sloppy track to run down favorite Journalism. That wasn’t even close to the biggest longshot to win this race.  

With Great White going off at 50-1 on Saturday, history’s money is on the longshots. Here is a look at the five biggest upsets the Run for the Roses has ever produced.  

Donerail, 1913  

ODDS: 91-1 

The record has stood for 113 years and might never fall. Donerail walked about three miles on dirt and cobblestone to reach the track that morning. He was stabled at a separate facility that day because Churchill Downs was overcrowded. Owner Thomas P. Hayes was just looking for a piece of the purse, hoping to finish in the top five. Instead, jockey Roscoe Goose kept Donerail off the pace letting the favorites Ten Point and Foundation race out front. In the final stretch, Goose let Donerail loose and he flew past the favorites to win by half a length.