The mint julep is a mixed alcoholic drink, or cocktail, consisting primarily of bourbon, sugar, water, crushed or shaved ice, and fresh mint. As a bourbon-based cocktail, it is associated with the American South and the cuisine of the Southern United States in general, and the Kentucky Derby in particular.
Michael E. Pegram is the co-owner of the 2010 Preakness Stakes winner Lookin at Lucky and owner of the 1998 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Real Quiet. He grew up in Princeton, Indiana going to the races at Ellis Park Racecourse and Churchill Downs and dreamed of someday owning a Kentucky Derby winner. He also won the 1998 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies with Silverbulletday and after she was voted that year's Eclipse Award for Outstanding 2-Year-Old Filly, came back in 1999 to win the Kentucky Oaks.
Churchill Downs, located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for annually hosting the Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs has also hosted the renowned Breeders' Cup on nine occasions, most recently on November 2 and 3, 2018. Churchill Downs Incorporated owns and operates the racetrack. With the infield open for the Kentucky Derby, the capacity of Churchill Downs is roughly 170,000.
The Woodlawn Vase is an American trophy given annually to the winning owner of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland.
Winning Colors was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse and one of only three fillies to ever win the Kentucky Derby. Though she was registered as roan, she was, in fact, a gray with a white blaze on her face.
Calvin H. Borel is an American jockey in thoroughbred horse racing and rode the victorious mount in the 2007 Kentucky Derby, the 2009 Kentucky Derby and the 2010 Kentucky Derby. His 2009 Derby win with Mine That Bird was the second biggest upset in Derby history, and Borel's winning margin of 6 3⁄4 lengths was the greatest in Derby history since Assault won by 8 lengths in 1946. On May 1, 2009, Borel won the Kentucky Oaks aboard Rachel Alexandra, only the second time since 1993 that a jockey has won the Oaks-Derby combo, and just the seventh time overall a jockey has accomplished this feat in the same year. On May 16, 2009, Borel won the 2009 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico with thoroughbred filly Rachel Alexandra. In doing so, Borel became the first jockey to win the first two jewels of the Triple Crown on different mounts. Borel's nickname is "Bo'rail'" due to his penchant for riding close to the rail to save ground.
Steven Mark Asmussen is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. He is a two-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2016. His horses have won the Breeders' Cup Classic, Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes, Breeders' Cup Distaff, Kentucky Oaks and Dubai World Cup.
My Typhoon is an American Thoroughbred racehorse whom the NTRA calls "one of the world's best-bred horses."
The Mint Julep Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky. Usually run in May or June, the Grade III event is open to fillies and mares age three and older. It is contested on Turf over a distance of one and one sixteenth miles.
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."
The Breeders’ Cup Trophy is an authentic and totally faithful bronze reproduction of the Torrie horse. The original was created in Florence, Italy by Giovanni da Bologna, around the late 1580s. Each year the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships award to the winner of each of 14 races a garland of flowers draped over the withers of the winning horse and four Breeders' Cup Trophy presented to the connections of the winners.
Each year the perpetual "Arlington Million Trophy" is presented to the winners of the Arlington Million in a national televised award ceremony. The Arlington Million Trophy is one that was commissioned in 1984 and stays on display at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illinois year round. Arlington Park is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated and the parent company lists the Arlington Million as one the country's most important races behind the Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky Oaks. The names of the horse and the connections are included in the display.
The Road to the Kentucky Derby is a points system by which horses qualify for a position in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby. It features dozens of stakes races for 2 and 3-year-old Thoroughbreds – the number and specific races have changed slightly over the years. The point system replaced a previous qualifying system that looked at earnings from all graded stakes races worldwide.
The Road to the Kentucky Oaks is a points system to qualify for the Kentucky Oaks, one of the most important races for three-year-old fillies and held the day before the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. It features roughly 30 stakes races for Thoroughbred fillies between September and April – the number and specific races have varied slightly over the years. The point system replaces the previous qualifying system which was based on graded stakes earnings.
Mark E. Casse is a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer whose most notable horses include 2015 American champion turf mare Tepin and Canadian Horses of the Year Sealy Hill (2007), Uncaptured (2012), Lexie Lou (2014) and Catch A Glimpse (2015). He has won nine Sovereign Awards for outstanding trainer in Canada and has been the leading trainer at Woodbine Racetrack 12 times.
Take Charge Lady is an American Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. She was one of the leading fillies of her generation in the United States, winning 11 of her 22 races between April 2001 and November 2003, earning over $2 million. She recorded Grade I victories in the Ashland Stakes and consecutive editions of the Spinster Stakes, and also won the Alcibiades Stakes, Silverbulletday Stakes, Fair Grounds Oaks, Dogwood Stakes and Arlington Matron Stakes.
The 2018 Road to the Kentucky Oaks was a points system by which Thoroughbred fillies qualified for the 2018 Kentucky Oaks, held on May 4. The races were held from September 2017 through April 2018. The top four finishers in the specified races earned points, with the highest point values awarded in the major preparatory races held in late March or early April. Earnings in non-restricted stakes acted as a tie breaker.
The 2018 Breeders' Cup World Championships was the 35th edition of the premier event of the North American thoroughbred horse racing year. The 14 races, all but one of which were Grade I, took place on November 2 and 3 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The races were telecast by NBCSN on Friday and early Saturday, and by NBC later on Saturday. The Breeders' Cup is generally regarded as the end of the North American racing season, although a few Grade I events take place in later November and December. The event typically determines champions in many of the Eclipse Award divisions, although it was missing the likely Horse of the Year, Triple Crown champion Justify, who was retired in July.
