Kentucky Derby 137 trophy arrives at Churchill Downs

The solid gold Kentucky Derby Winner’s Trophy with three smaller silver trophies that go to the winning trainer, jockey and breeders of the winner of this year’s Run for the Roses (Darren Rogers/Churchill Downs) The solid gold trophy that will be presented to the winning owner of the three-year-old Thoroughbred that wins the 137th running of the $2 million Kentucky Derby (G1) has arrived at Churchill Downs — its first step on busy schedule of special appearances before the trophy’s big moment in the winner’s circle following America’s greatest race on Saturday, May 7. The Kentucky Derby Winner’s Trophy was displayed along with three smaller sterling silver trophies that go to the winning trainer, jockey and breeder at a media briefing at Churchill Downs following their early afternoon arrival at the home of the Kentucky Derby. The trophies were created by New England Sterling of Attleboro, Massachusetts, and were delivered to the historic track by Marc Forbes, the company’s president, and Richard Powers, the president and CEO of the Precious Metals Division of the Cookson Group, the parent company of New England Sterling.

“It is absolutely priceless,” Forbes said. “This trophy is something that you
can’t buy. You have to win this particular item to acquire it.”

Forbes and Powers wore white gloves as they moved the trophies from their
boxes to a display table as members of the media looked on at the formal
unveiling of the trophies. The trophies were displayed publicly for the first
time during a media briefing on Tuesday in the Directors Room in the Churchill
Downs clubhouse.

“We start manufacturing this trophy sometime in the early fall, and we spend
about 2,000 man hours making this trophy,” Forbes said. “It’s made up of some 29
different parts that represent 19 different components to the trophy. We utilize
a number of different manufacturing processes. We use a casting process, a
spinning process and a stamping process. The entire trophy is made of14-karat
gold, but three of the components are made of 14-karat green gold.”

The design of the coveted Kentucky Derby Winner’s Trophy dates to 1924, when
it was presented to Black Gold, the winner of the Golden Anniversary Derby. 
New England Sterling manufactured the trophy for Louisville jeweler Lemon & Son
from 1975-1999, and has supplied the trophy directly to Churchill Downs since
1999.

“We have 16 different artisans that touch this trophy during the
manufacturing process,” Forbes explained. “This is the crown jewel of our
company. The Kentucky Derby trophy is a work of passion for us — we love doing
what we do. We love participating in such a great event.”

The solid gold trophy will make several stops throughout the community over
the next few weeks at events leading up to the 137th Kentucky Derby. Among those
events is the second annual “Taste of Derby” on Thursday, May 5, at Mellwood
Arts & Entertainment Center. Information on that event is available at

http://www.kentuckyderby.com/tasteofderby.

Displayed alongside the Kentucky Derby trophies were jewelry items that are
part of the first Kentucky Derby Trophy Collection. That limited collection was
also created by New England Sterling, which used the small amount gold left over
from the manufacture of the Kentucky Derby Winner’s Trophy to fashion the gold
and silver items offered in the new collection.

“Anyone who acquires a piece of the jewelry will own a piece of this year’s
Kentucky Derby trophy,” Forbes said. “We have taken a small amount of gold that
is left over from the manufacturing process and we have taken that gold and
fashioned it into the pieces of jewelry in this very limited collection.”

The Kentucky Derby Trophy Collection pieces include a necklace, pendant, hat
pin, key tag, money clip, cufflinks, lapel pin, tie tac and charm bracelet. 
The collection’s items range in price from $200-$500 and can be purchased online
at
http://www.kentuckyderbytrophycollection.com.