The Courier-Journal (Louisville)

Book offers look back in time

- Dann Miller Louisville Courier Journal

Secretaria­t. Affirmed. American Pharoah. Mage. Bob Hope. Richard Nixon. Whoopi Goldberg. Queen Elizabeth II.

For the past five months, the team at the Courier Journal has been putting together a book that showcases 150 years of the Kentucky Derby and what the event means to Louisville.

I grew up in New York, but I remember watching the Kentucky Derby as a kid. It was one of the few things we watched every year — like the Indy 500 or the World Series.

It was — and still is — appointmen­t viewing. We watched it for the show as much as the race. I didn’t know anything about horse racing, but that didn’t matter. We watched it anyway.

Our photo editor, Michael Clevenger, has been working with his team and former Courier Journal photograph­er Pat McDonogh to sift through thousands of images made by our team over the years.

Those photograph­s fill the book that will commemorat­e 150 Kentucky Derbys — hundreds of little moments combined with stories from reporters Kirby Adams, Jason Frakes and Maggie Menderski to tell the story of this iconic Kentucky event. When you see these images together, it stops being a book about a race, a track or even a city — it’s a look back at American culture.

Howard Cosell. Bo Derek. George Foreman. D. Wayne Lucas. Bob Baffert. LeRoy Jolley.

The distinctiv­e outfits of the 40s and 50s. The sunglasses that instantly tell you it’s the 1960s.

Horses breaking from the starting gate and running down the home stretch.

Women wearing the most elaborate hats you can imagine. Men looking like they stepped out of GQ.

People enjoying time between the races at Churchill Downs. Winning horses covered in roses.

Ron Turcotte. Diane Crump.

Pat Day standing triumphant in the Winner’s Circle. These are the moments and images we’ve captured that shaped 150 years of the Kentucky Derby. And American culture.

Something tells me you’re going to like it.

Dann Miller is the Courier Journal news director. You can reach him at dmiller@gannett.com or on X @dannmiller.

 ?? COURIER JOURNAL/PEDIMENT ?? The cover of “150 Years of the Kentucky Derby,” a new book from the Courier Journal.
COURIER JOURNAL/PEDIMENT The cover of “150 Years of the Kentucky Derby,” a new book from the Courier Journal.
 ?? ?? 150 years of the Kentucky Derby
You can order your copy at www.courier-journal.com/ derbybook.
150 years of the Kentucky Derby You can order your copy at www.courier-journal.com/ derbybook.

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