My family has a long history with the Kentucky Derby.
Our family’s legacy with Derby began with my great-grandfather’s passion for the two most exciting minutes in sports. And when he and my Granddaddy Roy bought the “family box” at Churchill Downs in 1920, there was no looking back. Over the next 35 years, he never miss a Derby until his death in 1955. The “family box” stayed in the family, passed down from one generation to the next, for 82 long, precious years. The Derby has always been that something “special” with my family and I was lucky enough to have that same wonderful passion for horses passed down to me from my great-grandfather.
My grandmother would make my Uncle George Robert a racing uniform every year. She would copy them from the same colors and silks as the horse my grandfather would pick each year, and complete the ensemble with a pair of racing boots. There’s now a “new’ George in the family–my grandson. His parents have a Derby party each year, no matter where they are, be it Georgia, Virginia, or New York.
I’ll give you one guess as to whom those prized boots are with now…
My uncle, George Robert, in his racing uniform at age 4. Also, my sons at a Derby I took them to once.
My grandson, George, riding his first horse in Kentucky at age 1.