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Churchill Downs unveils 2009 Kentucky Derby and Oaks logos
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(Courtesy of Churchill Downs) |
With the 2009 "Run for the Roses" only six months away, Churchill Downs on
Saturday unveiled the official logos for Kentucky Derby 135 and its companion
event, Kentucky Oaks 135. The Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks 135 event logos
will adorn all officially licensed merchandise, including apparel, gift items
and tickets.
The new Kentucky Derby 135 mark features two sides of a sleek, golden
horseshoe joined at the bottom by a stylized red rose. In the center of the
horseshoe are the words "Kentucky Derby" in gold and black font and the number
"135" to designate the event's 135th renewal. The words "Churchill Downs" and
the date "May 2, 2009," appear beneath the horseshoe.
A slender golden horseshoe also tops the official Kentucky Oaks 135 logo,
while a vibrant pink stargazer lily pops out from the horseshoe's center.
Emblazoned in bright pink and gold text beneath the primary artwork are the
words "Kentucky Oaks 135" and "Churchill Downs - May 1, 2009." The Kentucky Oaks
is traditionally held one day before the Kentucky Derby.
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"The new Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks logos provide a fresh and updated
graphic look for our more than century-old events and introduce artistic
elements and color palettes unique to both the Derby and Oaks brands that will
be incorporated into future logos to create a sense of continuity from year to
year," said Julie Koenig Loignon, vice president of Churchill Downs'
Entertainment Business Unit. "In addition to the logos that will be directly
associated with the 135th editions of the Kentucky Derby and its sister race, we
also chose to create non-dated, iconic marks that would represent the Kentucky
Derby and Kentucky Oaks brands on a year-round basis."
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(Courtesy of Churchill Downs) |
Churchill Downs also introduced non-dated versions of the Kentucky Derby and
Kentucky Oaks logos that are similar in color and design to the dated versions
for the 2009 events. Both non-dated marks feature a golden horseshoe with the
signature flowers associated with each event, a red rose for the Kentucky Derby
and a pink stargazer lily for the Kentucky Oaks, emerging from their respective
centers. Churchill Downs will use the non-dated marks for a variety of
applications, including its line of officially licensed merchandise and other
product offerings currently in development.
"Because we plan to incorporate our iconic Derby and Oaks marks into future
event logos, we wanted designs that were very simple in composition with clean
lines and distinct colors that are clearly linked to established Derby and Oaks
traditions," Koenig Loignon explained. "Our partners at SME Branding did a masterful job of combining design
elements that promote what's at the core of the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks
brands -- premium horse racing -- that can be used for a variety of applications
as we grow our brands and our entertainment offerings throughout Kentucky Derby
week the rest of the year."
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Churchill Downs partnered with SME Branding, a world leader in branding and
design based in New York City, on the new Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks logos
and brand standards. SME's impressive client list includes some of the biggest
names in sports, higher education and corporate America. The firm has recently
launched successful branding campaigns for Dolphins Stadium and the Miami
Dolphins Cheerleaders, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, L.A. Galaxy
professional soccer team, Ladies Professional Golf Association, Houston Texans
professional football team and the United States Olympic Committee. SME also
designed and launched branding campaigns for the Louisville-based Blue Equity
Sports Television (BEST) and University of Louisville.
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