Can’t Stop the Derby!

First Model T car built by Henry Ford (1906)

Affordable automobiles provided easier transportation to the

racetrack.

Titanic sinks in the Atlantic Ocean (1912)

Five year old Johnny Longden and family miss boat on trip to America – grows up to ride and train a Derby

winner.

World War I Begins (1914)

Potatoes grown in Churchill Downs’s infield, proceeds donated

to the Red Cross.

Beginning of the Great Depression (1929)

Sports provided an escape from daily life – Derby attendance

soared.

The Great Flood (1937)

The waters receded and the Derby ran on schedule. War Admiral wins and goes on to

win Triple Crown.

America enters World War II (1941)

Due to travel restrictions, people took streetcars to

Churchill Downs.

Churchill Downs Bankruptcy (1894)

Original racetrack owners sell to new group.

Tornado (1890)

Kentucky Derby ran on time less than two months later.

The Kentucky State Fair (1902)

The first Kentucky State Fair held at Churchill Downs.

First recorded airplane flight in Kentucky (1910)

Took off from Churchill Downs infield

Smoke Bomb Thrown on Track (1976)

National Guard Sergeant Gary Wall races under rail, throws bomb in helmet

and buries it. No one hurt.

Civil Rights Unrest (1967)

Many expected riots after a tense Derby week, but Martin Luther King

Jr. helped diffuse the situation.