Hats, roses & mint juleps: A guide to the Kentucky Derby and its traditions
The 149th Kentucky Derby is just a day away, and with it comes plenty of ornate hats, mint juleps and excitement on the racetrack.
The annual Run for the Roses — the race that determines the winner of the Kentucky Derby — has held a grip on Kentucky culture for decades. Most recently, it brought more than 147,000 fans to attend 2022’s Derby in person with countless more viewers tuning in from home, the establishment said in a statement.
Thanks to the Kentucky Derby’s long and storied history, it might be tough to understand the nuances of everything that catches your eye. So, whether you’re watching the annual event from afar or heading to Churchill Downs, here’s what you need to know about some of the most popular traditions.
‘Hats off’ to the Kentucky Derby
Extravagant hats are perhaps the most widely known element of Kentucky Derby fashion, but that wasn’t always the case.
When Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr., grandson of famed explorer William Clark, helped establish Churchill Downs and its beloved Derby, he envisioned it as a high-class event to draw out wealthy spectators, the Kentucky Derby’s website says. Similar races in Europe mandated full morning dress for men and women, and a similar emphasis on fashion helped recruit high-class attendees early in the Derby’s tenure.
“The event quickly became just as much about the fashion as the racing,” the Kentucky Derby’s online archive reads. “Going to a horse-racing event became an opportunity to show off the latest in spring fashion, and women were known to coordinate their hats, dresses, bags, shoes and even parasols.”
The ornate hats you’re used to seeing didn’t become heavily associated with the Kentucky Derby until social fashion norms loosened in the 1960s, the Derby says. The presence on television gave women a reason to stand out, according to the archive, which spurred “larger, brighter and more extravagant” headgear.
On the Kentucky Derby’s website, Jenny Pfanenstiel, a featured milliner, offers a few tips to pick the perfect hat. Here’s a breakdown of a few of her suggestions:
Choose a hat that complements you and your physique, including your height, face shape and hair length. Those who are on the shorter side might seek out a hat with a smaller brim, while those with shorter hair should consider wearing a “flip brim” hat that shows off your face and hair.
The most important aspect of your hat should be comfort, Pfanenstiel says. After all, you’ll wear it for hours on end on Derby Day.
Consider opting for a simple, solid-color hat if your outfit features a print. That way, your outfit won’t clash.
The towering Twin Spires
Though not technically a tradition, the Twin Spires are recognizable icons of the Kentucky Derby.
The two towers serve as the eye-catching architectural fixtures anchoring the Churchill Downs grandstand. Today, they’re also the namesake for Churchill Downs’ online betting platform.
The Twin Spires were constructed in 1895 as an addition to a new grandstand on the now 147-acre property. Joseph Dominic Baldez, then a 24-year-old draftsman, drew the blueprints for the project and sought to include a new, appealing feature.
“Originally, the plans did not include the Twin Spires atop Churchill Downs’ roofline, but as the young Baldez continued his work on the design, he felt the structure needed something to give it a striking appearance,” the Kentucky Derby’s online archive reads.
The symmetrical, hexagonal spires are no longer the tallest structures on the property, but they still attract fans each year. The Twin Spires remain a quintessential component of the track — so much so that former President Matt Win is reported to have once told Baldez the spires will never be removed.
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Winners come out smelling like roses
The Derby isn’t called the “Run for the Roses” for nothing, folks.
Kentucky Derby winners are draped with a rose garland now synonymous with the annual event. More than 400 red roses are sewn into a green satin backing with the Kentucky seal on one end and the Twin Spires and the number of the race’s current renewal on the other side, according to the derby’s website.
Additionally, garlands are adorned with green fern, ribbon and a “crown” of roses — a single rose pointing upward. On its archive, the Kentucky Derby says the rose symbolizes the “struggle and heart” needed to reach the winner’s circle.
Roses first appeared at the event in 1896 when winner Ben Brush received a floral arrangement of pink and white roses, according to the Kentucky Derby. The event named red roses its official flower in 1904 and saw an early variation of today’s garland introduced in 1932.
Since 1987, the Kroger Company has crafted each Kentucky Derby garland. Workers were expected to assemble this year’s rose garland Friday.
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The official drink of the Kentucky Derby
Who knew mint juleps and horse racing were so intertwined?
Since 1939, the cocktail has served as the official drink of the Kentucky Derby. According to CNN, mint juleps became associated with the Derby in 1877 when Polish actress Helena Modjeska received a “very large” mint julep for a toast meant to be shared with a group. She liked it so much, she kept it for herself and ordered another.
Mint juleps were already ingrained in Derby culture in the 1920s before Prohibition hit, CNN reports. Years later, racetrack managers began selling the glasses as souvenirs after realizing visitors were routinely stealing them. Today, the sitting governor of Kentucky traditionally toasts each Derby’s victor with a sterling silver mint julep cup.
The Kentucky Derby estimates it serves roughly 120,000 mint juleps across each Derby weekend. Doing so requires about 10,000 bottles of Old Forester Mint Julep Ready-To-Serve Cocktail, 1,000 pounds of fresh mint and 60,000 pounds of ice, according to the archive.
Here’s a look at the Old Forester mint julep recipe, available online:
3 oz. of Old Forester Mint Julep
0.75 oz. of simple syrup
8 to 10 mint leaves
3 mint sprigs (for garnish)
“Pack mint julep cup with crushed ice,” the recipe reads. “In a mixing glass, combine bourbon, syrup and mint leaves. Lightly bruise mint leaves with a muddler and strain contents into julep cup. Garnish with 3 generous sprigs of mint. Make sure to slap mint and insert straw into ice near mint.”
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How about the hardware?
Winners of the Kentucky Derby take home more than a few hundred red roses and a financial prize.
Since its 50th iteration, the Kentucky Derby has presented a trophy to the winning owner of the famed race. Through its archive, the derby says it’s unclear if trophies were presented after the race began in 1875 because presentations “were sporadically made in the following years.”
Today’s trophy resembles the award commissioned by Winn in 1924, the Derby says. The 14-karat gold trophy is topped by an 18-karat gold horse and rider, including horseshoe-shaped handles. The award weighs in at 56 ounces and stands 22 inches tall, excluding its jarred base.
Jeweled embellishments were added to the trophy to recognize select anniversaries, most recently the 125th race in 1999.
New England Sterling, located in North Attleboro, Mass., has created each trophy since 1975. Each is crafted by hand with the exception of the horse and rider, which are cast from a mold, according to the online archive.
Entering the winner’s circle
The Kentucky Derby’s winner’s circle dates back to the race’s earliest days.
According to the event’s historical archive, winners from 1875 through 1929 stood on the track in a circled area drawn out in chalk dust, ultimately coining the phrase. Officials later moved the presentation to a dedicated area that adjoined the Churchill Downs clubhouse.
By 1938, the Derby featured a new presentation stand that, even today, still recognizes each year’s winner. The winner’s circle now includes a landscaped horseshoe-shaped floral arrangement featured prominently in photographs of the winning horse, the Kentucky Derby says.
The winner’s circle is largely reserved for champions alone, but the area has occasionally been used for a few other purposes.
“Although the winner’s circle only has been used to honor the Kentucky Derby winner, a limited number of couples have used the site for weddings over the years,” the Kentucky Derby’s archive reads. “And although officials do not encourage the practice, as a last request, the ashes of some involved in the horse racing and breeding industry have discreetly been spread on the hallowed ground.”
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‘My Old Kentucky Home’
When it comes to the sounds of the Kentucky Derby, perhaps nothing beats this beloved ballad.
The Derby itself struggles to properly cite the first use of the Stephen Foster song as a Derby Day tradition, but it believes the ballad’s use began in 1921. Later, a 1929 news account said the song was played periodically throughout Derby Day, according to the archive. By 1930, evidence surfaced and suggested the song was played as horses were led to the post-parade.
Though the history is murky, “My Old Kentucky Home” remains a ubiquitous tradition. With only a few exceptions, the University of Louisville Marching Band has performed the song since 1936 as each Derby’s horses make their way from the paddock to the starting gate.
The history of “My Old Kentucky Home” is often complicated by the insensitivity of its original lyrics, which include a racial slur. According to Smithsonian Magazine, Foster originally wrote the song as “the lament of an enslaved person who has been forcibly separated from his family and his painful longing to return to the cabin with his wife and children.”
Below are the lyrics to the “My Old Kentucky Home” verse sung at Churchill Downs each year:
The sun shines bright in the old Kentucky home,
‘Tis summer, the people are gay;
The corn-top’s ripe and the meadow’s in the bloom
While the birds make music all the day.
The young folks roll on the little cabin floor
All merry, all happy and bright;
By’n by hard times comes a knocking at the door
Then my old Kentucky home, Good-night!
Weep no more my lady.
Oh! Weep no more today!
We will sing one song for the old Kentucky home
For the old Kentucky home, far away.
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