Come visit Derby Days, the chance to meet past Kentucky Derby winners, Funny Cide and Go for Gin, right here at the Kentucky Horse Park on May 3 and 4.

Help us celebrate the 10^th anniversary of Funny Cide’s Kentucky Derby and Preakness wins, and Go for Gin’s 1994 Kentucky Derby win, by visiting with them in their stalls or catching them at the Hall of Champions Show.

View one of the largest collections of past Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown trophies anywhere, on display in the International Museum of the Horse, featuring the trophies of Triple Crown winners Affirmed and Seattle Slew.  The museum’s collection includes the amazing Calumet Farm’s eight Derby trophies, seven Preakness trophies, two Belmont platters and two Triple Crown trophies for Whirlaway in 1941 and Citation in 1948.

Racing fans and history buffs will further have the opportunity to visit the grave of Isaac Burns Murphy, probably the world’s greatest Thoroughbred jockey, who won the Kentucky Derby three times, and achieved an incredible lifetime winning record of 44%.  Kentucky Derby winners War Admiral, Bold Forbes and Alysheba, among other great Thoroughbred horses, are also buried on park grounds.

The Kentucky Horse Park Gift Shop provides officially-licensed Derby merchandised including Daily Racing Forms and programs, and, of course, carries a variety of Derby hats, fancy to plain; scarves; ties; prints and notecards; and, books on Kentucky’s Thoroughbred racing heritage.

This family-friendly event also includes performances by two singer/songwriters, Taylor Dye and Dale Pyatt, and the Bittersweet Cloggers on both Friday and Saturday, and stick horse making and a coloring contest for the kids all day Saturday.

Each child (7-12) will receive a free return visit to the park just for visiting, and adult guests will be eligible for a drawing for one of several Family Season Passes.

Bring the family out to the Kentucky Horse Park for Derby Days to experience beautiful Kentucky scenery, horse culture and a lovely compliment to your Derby weekend!

Dates & Times -

Friday, May 3, 2013 – 9:00 am-5:00 pm

Saturday, May 4, 2013—9:00 am-5:00 pm

Admission* –

Adults - $16.00

Children (7-12) $8.00

*Guests who show a wagering ticket from Keeneland, or here at the drive-thru booths at the Kentucky Horse Park, will receive up to 50% off of general admission on Friday or Saturday.

Photo by Steve Faust.

This is Lovey, the official Barn Cat, official Greeter and Official Mouser of the Hall of Champions. Watch this exciting video of her performing her duties this morning http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsa0ebPWmLE then come out to meet her and her equine companions Funny Cide, Go for Gin, Cigar, Da Hoss, Be a Bono, Staying Together, Western Dreamer and Mr. Muscleman. Photo by Steve Faust.

NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Cindy Rullman
859-259-4209
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Kentucky Derby Winner Go for Gin Retires to Kentucky Horse Park

LEXINGTON, KY (August 11, 2011)  Go for Gin, the 1994 winner of the Kentucky Derby (G1), has arrived in Lexington, Kentucky, to make his home in the Kentucky Horse Park’s Hall of Champions alongside fellow Derby winner Funny Cide, two-time Breeders’ Cup winner Da Hoss, and racing superstar Cigar. 

John Nicholson, executive director of the Kentucky Horse Park, said, "Go for Gin will make another great addition to our Hall of Champions.  We entertain nearly 1 million visitors each year and they will be delighted to have the opportunity to meet a horse of his caliber, who performed so well in all three Triple Crown races." 

Go for Gin was bred in Kentucky by Pamela DuPont Darmstadt, owned by William J. Condren and Joseph M. Cornacchia, and trained by Nick Zito.  As a 2-year-old, the son of Cormorant-Never Knock, by Stage Door Johnny won the Remsen S (G2).  At 3, he was one of the few racehorses to beat the mighty Holy Bull, which he did in winning the Derby.  He followed that win with a second in the Preakness S (G1) to Tabasco Cat and second in the Belmont S (G1), also to Tabasco Cat.  That same year he also came up just short in the Wood Memorial (G1) and Fountain of Youth S (G2) for second. 

In all, from ages 2 to 4, Go for Gin was in the money in 14 out of 19 starts with earnings of $1,380,866. 

He took up stud duty at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky, and was later sold to Bonita Farm in Maryland, where he has been standing since 2004.  His progeny have earned more than $16.5 million and include Albert the Great, winner of more than $3 million.

William Boniface, owner of Bonita Farm, stated, "On behalf of our very dear friend and partner Joe Cornacchia, Bonita Farm is appreciative that the Kentucky Horse Park has accepted our donation of the Kentucky Derby winner Go for Gin.  I feel that their work providing for and displaying to the public the Top Thoroughbreds is very beneficial to our sport."

John Nicholson concluded, "We’re glad that his connections chose to allow Go for Gin to spend the rest of his days at the Kentucky Horse Park, where he will continue to be respected, appreciated and well cared-for."

The public is invited to welcome him back home to Kentucky.

Park Hours and Rates: Through November 6, the park is open seven days a week.  Admission is $16 for adults, $9 for children 7-12.  Children six and under are always admitted free of charge.  Admission includes the International Museum of the Horse – In Association with the Smithsonian Institution - and the American Saddlebred Museum.

EDITOR'S NOTE:  A high-resolution photo of Go For Gin at the Kentucky Horse Park is available for use with this press release by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .  Photos by PixBySteve.com.

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The Kentucky Horse Park is a working horse farm/theme park and equine competition facility dedicated to man’s relationship with the horse.  The park is an agency of the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet that hosted more than one million visitors and campers, as well as 15,000 competition horses in more than 100 special events and horse shows in 2010.  The park is home to the National Horse Center which comprises more than 30 national and regional equine organizations.   Located at Exit 120, Interstate 75, just north of Lexington, the Kentucky Horse Park is The place to get close to horses.   Open daily March 15 to October 31, and Wednesday through Sunday, November 1 to March 14.