The Kentucky Derby: How the Run for the Roses Became America's Premier Sporting Event

by James C. Nicholson, Chris McCarron

Overview

Each year on the first Saturday in May, the world turns its attention to the twin spires of Churchill Downs for the high-stakes excitement of the "greatest two minutes in sports," the Kentucky Derby. No American sporting event can claim the history, tradition, or pageantry that the Kentucky Derby holds. For more than 130 years, spectators have been fascinated by the magnificent horses that run the Louisville track. Thoroughbreds such as Secretariat and Barbaro have earned instant international fame, along with jockeys such as Isaac Murphy, Ron Turcotte, and Calvin Borel. The Kentucky Derby: How the Run for the Roses Became America's Premier Sporting Event calls this great tradition to post and illuminates its history and culture.

Rising from its humble beginnings as an American variation of England's Epsom Derby, the Kentucky Derby became a centerpiece of American sports and the racing industry, confirming Kentucky's status as the Horse Capital of the World. James C. Nicholson argues that the Derby, at its essence, is a celebration of a place, existing as a connection between Kentucky's mythic past and modern society. The Derby is more than just a horse race — it is an experience enhanced by familiar traditions, icons, and images that help Derby fans to understand Kentucky and define themselves as Americans. Today the Kentucky Derby continues to attract international attention from royalty, celebrities, racing fans, and those who simply enjoy an icy mint julep, a fabulous hat, and a wager on who will make it to the winner's circle.

Nicholson provides an intriguing and thorough history of the Kentucky Derby, examining the tradition, spectacle, culture, and evolution of the Kentucky Derby — the brightest jewel of the Triple Crown.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813161228
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	12/06/2014
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

James C. Nicholson is the author of Never Say Die: A Kentucky Colt, the Epsom Derby, and the Rise of the Modern Thoroughbred Industry.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix

Foreword Chris McCarron xiii

Preface xix

Introduction: The Unique Identity of Kentucky and Its Derby 1

1 Early Struggles and Foundations for Success: 1875-1910 9

2 The "Southern" Path to National Prominence: 1910-1930 47

3 Conflict at the Derby in the Great Depression: 1930-1940 83

4 An American Institution: 1940-1960 113

5 A Stage for Social Protest and a Site of National Healing: 1960-1980 143

6 Globalization and the American Dream: 1980-2010 177

Acknowledgments 221

Notes 225

Selected Bibliography 249

Index 261

Editorial Reviews

"[...] James C. Nicholson's The Kentucky Derby: How the Run for the Roses Became America's Premier Sporting Event skillfully explores how popular media and collective memories reinvent the past, invent regional culture, and transform in response to larger social and political changes.

This book is a quick read but not a shallow one; it is filled with historical information and analysis of the event that is central to the identity of Kentucky and important to the public image of America." — Indiana Magazine of History

"[...] Nicholson's book provides an excellent overview of a man who deserves a lot of credit for the commercialization and expansion of sports to a much larger population in the 19th century. Anyone who enjoys reading sports history or stories of interesting characters in 19th century America should find The Notorious John Morrissey well worth their time." — Bowling Green Daily News

From the Publisher

Through scrupulous research, Nicholson clearly describes how the Derby has transformed from "a pipsqueak Dixie picnic," in the words of Time magazine, to a major U.S. sporting event of the same caliber as the Masters tournament and the Indianapolis 500…Nicholson's book will appeal to anyone interested in learning about Kentucky and its Derby.
—The Washington Post

T. Rees Shapiro

An efficient examination of the "Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports." As Nicholson, the scion of a genuine Kentucky horse-breeding family, points out, the Kentucky Derby is as much about colorful colonels, pretty ladies and mint juleps as it is about starting gates, furlongs and Thoroughbreds--maybe even more so. Since its inception in 1875, the great race run annually at Churchill Downs has been understood as an experience, a yearly celebration of a very particular time and place in the nation's storied history. Whether or not that time or place ever truly existed, writes the author, is immaterial. In fact, it is the malleable nature of the Derby--perhaps best exemplified by the juxtaposition of its notoriously raucous infield and its extravagantly affluent grandstand--that is its greatest strength. Although rooted in a suspect antebellum tradition, the Derby still somehow manages to epitomize whatever the prevailing view of America happens to be at the time. "These values are not static; they evolve, disappear, and resurface at the whim of the pervading cultural, political, and social climate," Nicholson writes. Keen observations like this prove to be consistently powerful throughout the book, as the author touches on everything from the scandalous demise of celebrated black jockeys to the heavy influence of powerful Middle-Eastern sheiks. The winning horses, of course, are never far from the spotlight. All the great Kentucky Derby champions are here, from Aristides to Secretariat to Smarty Jones. Despite their many heroic exploits on the track, Nicholson's focus falls beyond the thundering hoof beats that speed past Churchill Downs' iconic twin spires each spring. A perceptive history of "Kentucky's mythic past and modern society" and how the Derby has helped fans "experience Kentucky and…make meaning of themselves as Americans."

Kirkus Reviews