Churchill Downs/Kentucky Derby History, Part IV The last furlongs of the Churchill Downs history explores the final impact of Matt Winn, and traces the Downs and the Derby through their final maturation stages. Before the final history segment, Call To The Derby Post would like to once again cite the source for the entire history section: "Jockeys, Belles and Bluegrass Kings, Official Guide to Kentucky Racing" by Lynn S. Renau (Herr House Press, Louisville, Kentucky: 1995). The Home Stretch: Into Modern Times Before the effects of the Great Depression impacted the Kentucky Derby, Matt Winn was able to preserve some magic and continue the growth of Derby legends. For the 1930 Derby, the first for which a public address system was used, Winn entertained the 17th Earl of Derby. Lord Derby presented the gold cup to millionaire William Woodward, Sr., whose Gallant Fox won for the prestigious Maryland-based Belair Stud. As Renau writes, "It was strictly royalty and riches, just what the country needed to reassure itself that its economic woes would be short-lived." The 1933 Derby had some interesting troubles of its own: there was a scuffle down the stretch between the jockeys for Head Play and Brokers Tip. Few spectators realized what had happened until The Courier-Journal showed a head shot of the horses on its front page the next day. Film of the "fighting finish" was shown in movie theaters around the world. But times were getting desparate, so much so that even die-hard Protestant denominations had to accept the donations of Brokers Tip's owner, notorious gambler E.R. Bradley. By the fall of 1933 even Matt Winn's optimism began to wane. He wrote Algernon Daingerfield, a racing executive in New York about the travails: "Racing conditions are worse that I have ever seen them. This great sport, which we both love so much, has reached a most critical stage and I am fearful of what the future holds." As Renau points out, the point that the letter began as a letter of condolence on the death of Daingerfield's son makes it all seem even more poignant and grim. In 1931 Winn cancelled Fall Meets at the Downs until 1934; the Kentucky Association track had closed, the Latonia track near Cincinnati shut down two years later and the American Turf Association was dissolved. Still, a few personal fortunes were depression-proof. Retailer Marshall Field and candy heiress Ether Mars had no problem sporting the cost of shipping a thoroughbred to the Downs for the Derby. Wealth stable owners filled Derby fields throughout the 1930s, reassuring patrons in dime movie houses that properity was just around the corner. They were partially right: by 1938 Winn, then the newly appointed president and executive manager of Churchill Downs, Incorporated, was able to pay for a tunnel to the infield which was terraced to improve drainage and provide better accomodations for the overflow Derby crowds who paid 50 cents for infield admission. (Today that will cost you $25.) As the Depression loosened its grip on the economy, Winn put $100,000 into new seating in 1939; by 1940 over 600 passes went to reporters, another 300 to newsreel and photo agency representatives, radio, telephone and telegraphy company officials. A war-strengthened economy led to a financial recovery across America, but Pearl Harbor almost ended the upswing. By February 1943 it looked as if there would be no Derby 69: the government had already shut down all non-essential recreational attractions, including Lexington's Keeneland Race Course. Winn's reponse was "ingenious." He wrote out-of-town boxholders, asking them to purchase their tickets but not attend; only Louisvillians would be at the Derby, Winn assured the press. 62,000 were on hand to watch Count Fleet begin his Triple Crown sweep. As America was drawn deeper into World War II, all forms of civilian travel were heavily restricted. Joseph Eastman, then head of the Office of Defense Transportation, had long since issued orders closing down racetracks and asked Winn to suspend racing at the Downs. The ODT asked for a list of all boxholders and advised them against attending the race; Winn suggested prominent out-of-town boxholders pay for their seats again so their tickets could be turned over to military personnel. For the last three years of the war the grounds were awash with uniforms. From 1941 on, Winn helped war efforts with War Charity Days. Churchill's Board of Directors donated $50,000 tp the Red Cross, making the presentation on Derby Day 1942. Salvation Army kettles and bell ringers were a fixture outside the track gates. When the government took over Louisville's State Fair Grounds, the 1944 State Fair was held in the infield. The infield was also used for other community functions, as well as demonstrations of field capabilities of newly developed Sherman tanks. Winn no doubt held his breath when news of the Normandy invasion reached him. As Renau says, "A postponed Derby once every century he could accept, a cancelled Derby never!" The Germans surrendered on May 8, 1945, Winn then cashed 155 nomination checks and ran a 16-horse Derby field on June 9,1945--the only time a Derby was ever run in June. Winn remained a force in horse racing for the next four years, with hands in tracks in Kentucky, New York, Maryland and Illinois. Winn's last Derby was the Diamond Jubilee Derby, Derby 75 in 1949. It proved him an innovator to the end. WAVE, the 41st television station in the country, did on live on-site telecast of the Derby under the direction of veteran newsman George Patterson. Viewers around Louisville, where there were no more that 300 television sets, and people as far away as Lexington and Paducah, saw as well as heard Matt Winn on the air, promoting the race he had turned into an international event. Matt Winn's luxuries were big black cigars and a chauffer-driven Duesenberg. He also enjoyed bourbon, but in moderation, and cautioned is friends about booze: "Some of the best men I ever knew tried to beat that stuff and lost, so be careful and don't let it lick you. The years took their toll on the usually healthy Mr. Winn, and he died on October 6, 1949. "For a man born during the Civil War, Winn had done what few would attempt. He guided Churchill Downs through the shadow of bankrupty, politics, World War I, the Great Depression, [the 1937] flood (which was so bad the only way to get around the track was by rowboat) and World War II. From grocer's wagon in the infield to television, Winn had seen the world change." Thankfully for the Derby and Churchill Downs, he was able to guide the race and the track through the change as well. Life After Winn: The Derby Grows Up From 1950 to 1958 the track ran under its own steam; the days of innovative management were at an end. There was no Derby TV coverage again until 1952. Wathen R. Knebelkamp served as Churchill Downs' president from 1959 to 1969. A highly respected Louisvillian, as well as a third-generation thoroughbred owner whose father raced horses in two Derbies during the 1930s, the charming Knebelkamp reconnected the track to Louisville and the Chamber of Commerce. He encouraged the Louisville Area Chamber of Commerce to grow with the Derby--it was during Knebelkamp's presidency that the Derby Festival and Pegasus Parade came into their own. The Derby suffered a major dose of controversey in 1968, when racing officials claimed that the winner, Dancer's Image, had tested positive for an illegal drug. Later, the owner of Dancer's Image theorized that his colt had been drugged because of his pledge of support for Coretta King, widow of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who had led a sit-in at the Downs' parking lot on Oaks Day the year before. 1967 saw the cancellation of the Pegasus Parade, and the National Guard at the Downs on Derby Day to keep the peace. After maintenance staff refused to cross King's picket line, office staff worked through the night to clean up Oaks Day debris before Derby Day visitors arrived. The taks was a monumental one, about which bitter feelings still remain. (Eventually, Forward Pass was awarded the title of winner of the 1968 Derby.) In 1973, Secretariat galvanized the nation. After setting a Derby record by winning in 1:59 2/5 (a record that still stands) and then the Triple Crown (the first since 1948) Secretariat made the cover of Time, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated. The press voted him Horse of the Year, and then Man of the Year. On the Derby's 100 Anniversay in 1974, a record-breaking crowd of 163,628 fams jammed the stands to watch Cannonade win the Run for the Roses. 1978 saw the most exciting Triple Crown ever, when Affirmed and Alydar ran 1-2 in all three races. There has been no Triple Crown winner since. When Lynn Stone, president of the Downs from 1970 to 1984, other professional sports began taking an ever-increasing bite of the public's time and pocketbook. Amidst declining profits and rumors of hostile takeovers, Thomas H. Meeker was appointed as President of the Downs. A former Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel, Meeker focused on capital improvement, community relations and customer service. Under Meeker's leadership, the facility underwent a 10-year, $35 million renovation, including renumbering all the seats and the inclusion of a turf course. In 1987 Churchill Downs broke with tradition and awarded the contract for the garland of roses to Kroger's, a Midwest grocery chain. When local nurseryman refused to sell roses to Kroger's, the grocery company announced plans to hybridize a special Derby rose. Today the garland of roses is a blanket-sized tribute that envelops the Derby winner. When Thomas Meeker assumed the presidency of the Downs in 1984, the inaugural year of the Breeders' Cup, thoroughbred racing was at its height. Two years later, federal tax laws, coupled with the Middle East oil crisis, left the industry reeling. By 1989, a chain reaction of bankruptcies, indictments and trials, dispersals of major racing stables and precipitous drops in thoroughbred foal registrations to their pre-1980 levels made headlines every week. Today the Kentucky Derby and Churchill Downs face serious challenges from other gambling arenas and most of the same issues it has always faced. By 1996 the purse for the Kentucky Derby had reached $1 million. The Churchill Downs' board has committed itself to a $50 million makeover, while the track's name and twin-spired logo are zealously guarded corporate trademarks. But whatever the difficulties the board faces, whatever challenges confront racing, the Derby or the Downs, the fact remains the Derby has been run every year since 1875. It is a national treasure, and one which the state of Kentucky and city of Louisville cherish as an integral part of its culture. Simply put, and without exaggeration or insincerity, there is no greater moment in the state than the call to the Derby post. The excitement, the sentimentality, the Derby betting and the Derby parties, the mint juleps after a two-week Dery Festival--there is simply no other sporting event in the world whose spirit flows more thoroughly through the blood of its fans. Cocktails with the Sport of Kings | The Arrival of Thoroughbreds | Into the Colonies and America Foundations: Bluegrass and Lexington | The Move to Louisville Churchill's Colonel | Derby Growing Pains | The Legacy of Matt Winn | The Home Stretch: Into Modern Times