The Race for the Roses (and a damn good excuse to drink a mint julep)
Posted by Dina @ Honey + Fitz at 2:59 PMIn honor of the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby tomorrow, I thought we'd do a post all about the race. Most people I talk to back home know almost nothing about it...it's a huge deal in the south but goes by relatively unnoticed up north. So for everyone wondering what all the fuss over enormous hats, seersucker suits and furlongs is about, read on:
7 Facts about the Kentucky Derby
1. The race has been run every year since 1875 on the first Saturday in May.
2. The only horses allowed to run in the Derby are 3 year olds. Hence you've got one shot and one shot only...there's no "maybe next year" because next year you're 4!
3. The Derby can only be run by Thoroughbred horses, all of which can trace their lineage back to 3 common ancestors, the Byerly Turk, the Darley Arabian, and the Godolphin Barb, which were imported into Great Britain from the Middle East and North Africa between 1689 and 1724. Mated with strong English mares, they produced offspring with both speed and endurance.
4. "My Old Kentucky Home" is the official song of the Derby and the state of Kentucky and is sung by everyone in attendance before the crowning of the race winner.
5. The Derby covers a distance of 1 1/4 miles...that's furlongs to everyone in the know. What's a furlong? The term is almost exclusively used in horse racing now. It's an old English measure that equates to 220 yards or roughly 1/8th of a mile. Hence 8 furlongs = 1 mile.
6. Secretariat was one of history's most famous Thoroughbred racehorses. In 1973 Secretariat won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes to win the coveted Triple Crown, the last horse to earn such a distinction.
7. The Mint Julep is a tradition as old as the Kentucky Derby itself, as much a part of Derby tradition as bugles and roses. The julep is the official toast to the winning horse, but fans at Derby parties tend to start long before the finish (hence the out of control in-field!). It is, in my opinion the absolute best part of the Derby tradition and is deserves a post all to itself, which is exactly what it will get tomorrow morning...plenty of time for you to run out and get the necessary ingredients.
7 Facts about the Kentucky Derby
1. The race has been run every year since 1875 on the first Saturday in May.
2. The only horses allowed to run in the Derby are 3 year olds. Hence you've got one shot and one shot only...there's no "maybe next year" because next year you're 4!
3. The Derby can only be run by Thoroughbred horses, all of which can trace their lineage back to 3 common ancestors, the Byerly Turk, the Darley Arabian, and the Godolphin Barb, which were imported into Great Britain from the Middle East and North Africa between 1689 and 1724. Mated with strong English mares, they produced offspring with both speed and endurance.
4. "My Old Kentucky Home" is the official song of the Derby and the state of Kentucky and is sung by everyone in attendance before the crowning of the race winner.
5. The Derby covers a distance of 1 1/4 miles...that's furlongs to everyone in the know. What's a furlong? The term is almost exclusively used in horse racing now. It's an old English measure that equates to 220 yards or roughly 1/8th of a mile. Hence 8 furlongs = 1 mile.
6. Secretariat was one of history's most famous Thoroughbred racehorses. In 1973 Secretariat won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes to win the coveted Triple Crown, the last horse to earn such a distinction.
7. The Mint Julep is a tradition as old as the Kentucky Derby itself, as much a part of Derby tradition as bugles and roses. The julep is the official toast to the winning horse, but fans at Derby parties tend to start long before the finish (hence the out of control in-field!). It is, in my opinion the absolute best part of the Derby tradition and is deserves a post all to itself, which is exactly what it will get tomorrow morning...plenty of time for you to run out and get the necessary ingredients.
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