Unless you’re a diehard Kentuckian, don’t pretend you know it: after all, they show the words on the scoreboard (and on the television, for that matter) for the uninitiated to sing along while the University of Louisville Marching Band plays the tune while the horses parade from the paddock to the starting gate. Believed to have originated for the 47th running of the derby in 1921, this classic, by composer Stephen Foster, is also the Kentucky State song. (But not one without controversy: it was updated in 1988 by an act of the Kentucky legislature to replace a mention of the word “darkies” with “people”.)
Top 9 Icons of the Kentucky Derby
This weekend’s race has tradition awash in color, feathers and mint juleps.