The history of the Kentucky Derby in 75 objects / Kentucky Derby Museum and Jessica K. Whitehead.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kentucky Derby Museum, author.

Whitehead, Jessica K., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Kentucky Derby--History.

Kentucky Derby.

Assassination--History.

Assassination.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (329 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Lexington, Kentucky : The University Press of Kentucky, [2024]

Summary:

""To understand the Kentucky Derby is to understand the contemporary American spirit." One hundred and fifty years have passed since the Thoroughbreds of the inaugural Kentucky Derby sprang from the starting gate to race beneath the iconic Twin Spires of Churchill Downs. But the story of the greatest two minutes in sports is more than the pageantry of the horses and thrill of the people who love and celebrate the event. Through the decades, the Derby, like the state that founded it, has experienced profound moments of social, economic, and cultural change. As one of Kentucky's flagship cultural and economic institutions, the Thoroughbred racing industry must constantly reconcile with its past and think critically about the stories that have traditionally made it into the winner's circle. In the right hands, artifacts of material culture related to the Derby have the power to inspire nuanced stories of the past and shed light on marginalized voices in the industry's history. In The History of the Kentucky Derby in 75 Objects, Jessica K. Whitehead sets out to recover the accurate history of America's longest continuously held sporting event and establish a balance between well-known narratives and those that are less widely shared. Whitehead, curator of collections at the Kentucky Derby Museum, gives readers a personal tour of 75 objects from the museum. Her selections place Black, Latin American, and female riders, owners, and trainers closer to the center of the Derby story, spotlighting the contributions and achievements of groups that have played an increasingly important role in shaping the legacy of the Run for the Roses"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Contents

Introduction

Part One: Kentucky's Derby

One: The Club

Two: Bloodlines

Three: A Kingdom for the Horse

Four: At the Starting Line

Five: Crossroads

Six: Beauty, Blood, Wealth, and Weather

Part Two: Shall We Improve the Breed of Horses or Men?

Seven: The Dragon of the Turf

Eight: Reaping the Whirlwind

Nine: Dead Heat

Ten: Two Grandstands

Eleven: On the Turf and Under It

Twelve: Sell and Repent

Part Three: More Than a Horse Race

Thirteen: The Longest Shot

Fourteen: Mr. Derby

Fifteen: Land of Unreality

Sixteen: Fathers and Sons

Part Four: America's Derby

Seventeen: Keeping Up with the Joneses

Eighteen: Changing Times

Nineteen: Superstars of the Seventies

Twenty: Winning Colors

Twenty-one: The Finish Line

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-9859-0046-7

OCLC:

1429617862