Kentucky Derby Trophy

The Kentucky Derby Trophy is a set of four trophies that are awarded to the winning connections of America's most famous race: the grade one $2,000,000 Kentucky Derby. The owner receives a gold trophy while the trainer, the jockey and the breeder win a silver half size replica of the main gold trophy. The trophy itself has been run for since the 50th running of the Kentucky Derby in 1924. Churchill Downs Race Course of Louisville, Kentucky has annually presented a gold trophy to the winning owner of the famed "Run for the Roses."

There is no record whether a trophy was presented to the winner of the first Derby in 1875. There is evidence that trophy presentations were sporadically made between 1876 and 1924. In 1924, Matt Winn, who was the president of Churchill Downs at the time commissioned a standard design from artist George L. Graff for the 1925 50th "Golden Anniversary" of the Derby.

Outside of the jeweled embellishments that were added to note special Derby anniversaries in 1949 (75th), 1974 (100th), and 1999 (125th), only one change has been made to the original design. For the 125th Kentucky Derby in 1999, Churchill Downs officials decided to defer to racing lore and change the direction of the decorative horseshoe.

The horseshoe, fashioned from 18-karat gold, had pointed downward on each of the trophies since 1924. To commemorate Derby 125 the change was made and the horseshoe was turned 180 degrees so that its ends pointed up. The trophy now annually incorporates the horseshoe with the ends pointing up. Racing superstition decrees that if the horseshoe is turned down all the luck will run out.

The trophy was supplied by Lemon & Son, a Louisville jeweller (and the oldest retail business in Louisville) from 1924 until 1999. From 1975 onwards, the trophy has been manufactured by the New England Sterling company, located in North Attleboro, Massachusetts.

The trophy, which is topped by an 18-karat gold horse and rider, includes horseshoe shaped handles, is 22 inches tall and weighs 56 ounces, excluding its jade base. Most of it is 14-karat gold; some components are 14-karat green gold.

To complete the trophy by April, construction begins during the fall of the previous year; the completed trophy takes approximately 2000 hours of labor. Typically 29 parts are combined into 19 components which comprise the trophy. Various construction techniques are used, including casting (the horse and rider that top the trophy), stamping and metal spinning.

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