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In 1896, champion stallion Ben Brush won the Kentucky Derby in a hair-raising finish, rounding the two-kilometer course in 2:07.75. For the first time since the Derby began in 1875, Churchill Downs officials draped a horseshoe-shaped rose collar over the victorious Thoroughbred’s shoulders.
The ritual has since become far more elaborate: a 40-pound garland featuring more than 400 roses of the deepest red. It’s hand-sewn by master florists in Middletown, Ky., at a Kroger, the Ohio-based supermarket chain that happens to be the nation’s largest florist.
In 1904, the red rose became the official flower of the Kentucky Derby. Sports columnist Bill Corum officially dubbed the Derby the “Run for the Roses” in 1925—but it wasn’t until several years later that Louisville florist Grace Walker created the blueprint for the garland presented to today’s winners.
Walker, who was originally commissioned by Churchill Downs official Samuel Culbertson, designed an intricate garland with more than 500 roses stitched on a cloth-backed blanket. This design was first modeled by 1932 Derby winner Burgoo King. Walker once charged Churchill Downs $3,600—her largest bill—for the flowers, labor, delivery, and winner’s circle vases.
Walker was assisted over the years by several of her employees at Kingsley Walker Florist, as well as her granddaughters and her daughter, who took the reins in the 1970s. Kroger took over the tradition with a few tweaks in 1987, two years after Walker’s death.
Almost 25,000 spectators gather on Friday at the Middletown Kroger each year to watch the arrangement take shape, Kroger corporate affairs manager Jessica Sharp tells Front Office Sports. Florists and volunteers begin fabricating the sturdier backing in February, but “most of the work is completed Derby week,” she says, with about 70 people working on the garland from beginning to end.
The garland is composed of 465 Rainforest Alliance-Certified “Freedom” Roses, which are grown in Colombia and Ecuador and transported to Middletown prior to Derby week. Each rose stem is inserted into its own tiny water vial hidden inside the garland backing for freshness; then, the roses are hand-sewn into place on a layer of Sprengeri greenery.
Finally, the florists place “a crown of roses, greenery and ribbons at the center—one rose for each Thoroughbred running in the Kentucky Derby,” according to Churchill Downs representatives. A special rose is also placed in the center of the arrangement “to symbolize the struggle and heart necessary to reach the Kentucky Derby Winner’s Circle.”
The final garland measures 122 inches long by 22 inches wide. It’s escorted to Churchill Downs by local police and is guarded by the U.S. Navy while on display, prior to the race. As soon as the results are final, and the on-track interview is complete, the jockey and horse make their way to the winner’s circle. The horse is presented with the garland, while the winning jockey receives 60 matching long-stemmed red roses wrapped with 10 yards of ribbon.
After the ceremony in the winner’s circle, the garland returns to the Derby Museum; museum staff then delivers the garland to the barn of the winning horse on the Sunday following the race. Kroger says the garland isn’t donated—but its price tag remains a well-guarded secret.
