Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, for one hundred and fifty one years, it's been
the Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky Oaks. For forty years,
it's been the Derby Museum with their fortieth anniversary forty years. Hello, Hello,
Katrina Helmer is joining us here this morning from the
Kentucky Derby Museum and congratulations. I mean forty years. Yeah,
(00:22):
today's to day.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Forty years ago today we opened up our doors.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Well, so help me a little bit. Did I see
you all had a ball lately? Was that it we.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Shir did till we Shir did? On Friday? That was
our annual gala. It's our biggest fundraiser of the year, okay,
and we had a sold out crowd. It was incredible.
You could just feel the energy in the building. Everyone
was so excited to have the entire event at the museum.
Everyone got to watch the new Greatest Race, our three
sixty movie, and just explore the museum after hours. That's
(00:58):
always fun vibes having champagn walking through the exhibits. Right.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
You know, there was a time I remember with the
Derby Museum. I think it wasn't it They had Tony
Bennett's port paintings. I don't know, that's probably fifteen years
ago or something like that. It was so awesome. Yeah,
you know, I think they had in the upstairs. But
let's get back to the fortieth year celebration. So, yeah,
(01:22):
what kind of changes have come about here.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
That's what's been so fascinating going through a lot of
our archives for the museum is seeing what has and
has not changed over the years. And there are so
many exhibits that we started with forty years ago and
they've evolved and they've changed, and we've updated them as
technology has changed over time. But that core of that
(01:46):
exhibit is still there. And I think that's what's so
special about the museum is that we hear it all
the time from people. Right they're like, I haven't been
here since a field trip back in the day, and
then they're just stunned at how everything looks and they're
still learning something when they come through. And that's the
goal is to not just learn something, but to evoke
(02:07):
an emotion. And when you think about it, that's what
Derby is for so many people. You walk through those
gates and you're instantly just wow, like overcome with some
sort of an emotion. And that's that's the goal of
the museum too, is to impart that to people.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
It's been over a decade now when I really I've
been in the Kentucky Derby Museum, but not when it
was active. It was for different advances that they have
been for the Tony Bennett portraits. I kind of remember,
but I remember the first time that I just paid
my money because I brought my aunt from Hawaii and
her husband and Penny and I we wound up going.
(02:49):
I've never really just gone to see the Derby Museum. Yeah,
and you know, so many people we don't take advantage
of the things that we have, like the Derby Museum
or maybe Slugger Museum or things like that. And it
really was spectacular and it got a little lumpy. I
love to hear that. Yeah, it was great.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Yeah, it's just over. We did some math, we did
some calculating, right, We were curious how many people have
been through the museum in forty years. It's over seven
point two million people have been through the museum. So
that that's important to us too, as as being an
attraction here in Louisville and part of tourism and bringing
people to the city and and we want to make
(03:29):
sure that so many of our exhibits are for our
locals and you can be proud of it, and you
can come for an event and experience the museum in
a different way. And then you think of all the
people from across the globe that then have learned something
about Kentucky in the Derby by coming through the museum,
because there it's Derby every single day.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
So over time do you all collect all these different archives? Yeah?
And how do you can't display them all? Right? At
the same time, we.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Have over twenty thousand artifacts in the museum, which is
wild because we just have two floors right that you
can can see. And so so much of what the
museum does, too, is from a curatorial perspective preserving history,
and so we have a team of people that that's
their job. That's what they're trained in doing. Their historians,
their curators, and protecting history is what they do. And
(04:27):
so having those items down in the vault and making
sure they're taking care of them is also part of Hey,
we would love for people to know what this is.
So that's why we update exhibits a lot and switch
things out and keep things fresh. And one of the
ways we're actually going to do that this summer is
with our new fashion exhibit. There are some really beautiful
(04:48):
fashion pieces that are so delicate, you know, they can't
be on display for the public, but we're taking photos
of a lot of these pieces, and so we're going
to incorporate some technology in this new exhibit so that
you can can actually go through the archives and see
some things you would never be able to see before.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
How far back do you go?
Speaker 2 (05:07):
So we have some pieces that go all the way
back one hundred and fifty one years. Yeah, and so
being able to see like what someone wore to the
track back in the day for that first one is
just really cool.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
I'll beg, yeah, you just take the pictures.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
I don't think they trust me to do that, and
good on them for not trusting me. I think one
of my favorite pieces that we have on display right
now in the temporary Fashion exhibit, there's a cane and
it's actually got a flask in it. That's fun, right,
and you're a kid.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Yeah, they were starting out tomatoes, rotten watermelons. People that
did something on towards for the field days.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
The infield, you know, that's the vibe.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
So you don't have the Do you have the pictures
like we saw in the Courier Journal with the man
on the on the flower on the flagpole?
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Absolutely?
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
And we actually we met one of the flagpole climbers
last year and he told us the whole story and
we're like, this is incredible.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
He was like, I think I.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Can tell this story legally now, right, and we're like
safe with us.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
I hope he did it with his clothes on this time.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Days with the story.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
I'm I'm a journalist. No, I'm not. Trust me. I know,
I'm not like you are. Yeah, so tell us what
what what are we going to see this year that
maybe we haven't seen before?
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Yeah? So the museum is open through Wednesday of this
week to the public if you want to come and visit,
and then we turn into a hospitality venue for Oaks
and Derby Day and then the musical fancy people coming through. Yeah,
they kick me out for that, So I'm working in
the grand stands during that, and then on Sunday we're open.
(07:09):
We're back up into the public and we're offering free
admission on Sunday. That's our gift to the community. So yeah,
so if you still have your guests in town and
you're recovering from Derby itself and you need something to
do with them and get them out of the house.
Come on down to the museum. We'd love to have everyone.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Well, I know you have some beautiful things that people
can purchase, like great ties, bow ties that can Yeah,
but I can't tie bow tie.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Well I can't either, but I think that's horrible.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
I just can't do it. Friends, try to teach me.
Of course, I'm left handed, and every that.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Can be your excuse. Way you can't tell.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Well, you know, and then I've got on YouTube. Okay,
if you're left handed, here's how you do it. I
still can't.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
It still doesn't work. But yeah, our store is open
all week, so if you want to shop and you're
at the track, you can still stop by even when
the museum is technically closed. So we have the store
in the museum on that side of the track, and
we also run the Kentucky Derby Store at the track itself,
(08:06):
so both stores you can go ahead and shop support
the museum that way, and we would greatly appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Well. Yeah, and they may be needing to buy some
flip flops. Or something with the moisture at least.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
They always depends on the weather. But the things we
always sell out fastest is either flip flops or ponchos. Oh, absolutely,
flip flops or ponchos. Every single year they are gone.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
That's exactly right. Well, okay, one more thing, so the
hours you're open again? And what about lunch? You can
have lunch there too.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
The cafe is closed this week, just this week, but
they will open back up after Derby.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
It's really good.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Yeah, it's a good spot. Oh, that's a great question.
We packed people in there. We also we have a bar,
and the bar is on the Urban Bourbon Trail, so
we have over two hundred bourbons there and you can
test mount and then usually we have some of those bottles.
You can go ahead and purchase them in the store.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
And you know, if you can't make it in this week,
I mean obviously, just what what are the weekday hours?
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Yeah, so during the spring and the summer, that's when
we open a little earlier, and we're so I think
it's eight o'clock that we open, but we have tours
that go out early in the morning, like seven o'clock. Okay,
before the building actually opens, because you know, that's when
horses are working out, So a lot of our tour
groups are coming in super early. Yeah, Katrina, thanks so much,
(09:30):
Thank you so much for having.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Us Happy Derby, Happy Hraty Derby. All right, Katriina Helmer
with the Kentucky Derby Museum. Here on news radio a
forty whs. Scott Fishell standing by. We're backside Churchill Down's
with lots of sports and lots of coverage on the horses.
All here on news radio a forty whas
Well, for one hundred and fifty one years, it's been
the Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky Oaks. For forty years,
it's been the Derby Museum with their fortieth anniversary forty years. Hello, Hello,
Katrina Helmer is joining us here this morning from the
Kentucky Derby Museum and congratulations. I mean forty years. Yeah,
(00:22):
today's to day.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Forty years ago today we opened up our doors.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Well, so help me a little bit. Did I see
you all had a ball lately? Was that it we.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Shir did till we Shir did? On Friday? That was
our annual gala. It's our biggest fundraiser of the year, okay,
and we had a sold out crowd. It was incredible.
You could just feel the energy in the building. Everyone
was so excited to have the entire event at the museum.
Everyone got to watch the new Greatest Race, our three
sixty movie, and just explore the museum after hours. That's
(00:58):
always fun vibes having champagn walking through the exhibits. Right.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
You know, there was a time I remember with the
Derby Museum. I think it wasn't it They had Tony
Bennett's port paintings. I don't know, that's probably fifteen years
ago or something like that. It was so awesome. Yeah,
you know, I think they had in the upstairs. But
let's get back to the fortieth year celebration. So, yeah,
(01:22):
what kind of changes have come about here.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
That's what's been so fascinating going through a lot of
our archives for the museum is seeing what has and
has not changed over the years. And there are so
many exhibits that we started with forty years ago and
they've evolved and they've changed, and we've updated them as
technology has changed over time. But that core of that
(01:46):
exhibit is still there. And I think that's what's so
special about the museum is that we hear it all
the time from people. Right they're like, I haven't been
here since a field trip back in the day, and
then they're just stunned at how everything looks and they're
still learning something when they come through. And that's the
goal is to not just learn something, but to evoke
(02:07):
an emotion. And when you think about it, that's what
Derby is for so many people. You walk through those
gates and you're instantly just wow, like overcome with some
sort of an emotion. And that's that's the goal of
the museum too, is to impart that to people.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
It's been over a decade now when I really I've
been in the Kentucky Derby Museum, but not when it
was active. It was for different advances that they have
been for the Tony Bennett portraits. I kind of remember,
but I remember the first time that I just paid
my money because I brought my aunt from Hawaii and
her husband and Penny and I we wound up going.
(02:49):
I've never really just gone to see the Derby Museum. Yeah,
and you know, so many people we don't take advantage
of the things that we have, like the Derby Museum
or maybe Slugger Museum or things like that. And it
really was spectacular and it got a little lumpy. I
love to hear that. Yeah, it was great.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Yeah, it's just over. We did some math, we did
some calculating, right, We were curious how many people have
been through the museum in forty years. It's over seven
point two million people have been through the museum. So
that that's important to us too, as as being an
attraction here in Louisville and part of tourism and bringing
people to the city and and we want to make
(03:29):
sure that so many of our exhibits are for our
locals and you can be proud of it, and you
can come for an event and experience the museum in
a different way. And then you think of all the
people from across the globe that then have learned something
about Kentucky in the Derby by coming through the museum,
because there it's Derby every single day.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
So over time do you all collect all these different archives? Yeah?
And how do you can't display them all? Right? At
the same time, we.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Have over twenty thousand artifacts in the museum, which is
wild because we just have two floors right that you
can can see. And so so much of what the
museum does, too, is from a curatorial perspective preserving history,
and so we have a team of people that that's
their job. That's what they're trained in doing. Their historians,
their curators, and protecting history is what they do. And
(04:27):
so having those items down in the vault and making
sure they're taking care of them is also part of Hey,
we would love for people to know what this is.
So that's why we update exhibits a lot and switch
things out and keep things fresh. And one of the
ways we're actually going to do that this summer is
with our new fashion exhibit. There are some really beautiful
(04:48):
fashion pieces that are so delicate, you know, they can't
be on display for the public, but we're taking photos
of a lot of these pieces, and so we're going
to incorporate some technology in this new exhibit so that
you can can actually go through the archives and see
some things you would never be able to see before.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
How far back do you go?
Speaker 2 (05:07):
So we have some pieces that go all the way
back one hundred and fifty one years. Yeah, and so
being able to see like what someone wore to the
track back in the day for that first one is
just really cool.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
I'll beg, yeah, you just take the pictures.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
I don't think they trust me to do that, and
good on them for not trusting me. I think one
of my favorite pieces that we have on display right
now in the temporary Fashion exhibit, there's a cane and
it's actually got a flask in it. That's fun, right,
and you're a kid.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Yeah, they were starting out tomatoes, rotten watermelons. People that
did something on towards for the field days.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
The infield, you know, that's the vibe.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
So you don't have the Do you have the pictures
like we saw in the Courier Journal with the man
on the on the flower on the flagpole?
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Absolutely?
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
And we actually we met one of the flagpole climbers
last year and he told us the whole story and
we're like, this is incredible.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
He was like, I think I.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Can tell this story legally now, right, and we're like
safe with us.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
I hope he did it with his clothes on this time.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Days with the story.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
I'm I'm a journalist. No, I'm not. Trust me. I know,
I'm not like you are. Yeah, so tell us what
what what are we going to see this year that
maybe we haven't seen before?
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Yeah? So the museum is open through Wednesday of this
week to the public if you want to come and visit,
and then we turn into a hospitality venue for Oaks
and Derby Day and then the musical fancy people coming through. Yeah,
they kick me out for that, So I'm working in
the grand stands during that, and then on Sunday we're open.
(07:09):
We're back up into the public and we're offering free
admission on Sunday. That's our gift to the community. So yeah,
so if you still have your guests in town and
you're recovering from Derby itself and you need something to
do with them and get them out of the house.
Come on down to the museum. We'd love to have everyone.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Well, I know you have some beautiful things that people
can purchase, like great ties, bow ties that can Yeah,
but I can't tie bow tie.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Well I can't either, but I think that's horrible.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
I just can't do it. Friends, try to teach me.
Of course, I'm left handed, and every that.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Can be your excuse. Way you can't tell.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Well, you know, and then I've got on YouTube. Okay,
if you're left handed, here's how you do it. I
still can't.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
It still doesn't work. But yeah, our store is open
all week, so if you want to shop and you're
at the track, you can still stop by even when
the museum is technically closed. So we have the store
in the museum on that side of the track, and
we also run the Kentucky Derby Store at the track itself,
(08:06):
so both stores you can go ahead and shop support
the museum that way, and we would greatly appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Well. Yeah, and they may be needing to buy some
flip flops. Or something with the moisture at least.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
They always depends on the weather. But the things we
always sell out fastest is either flip flops or ponchos. Oh, absolutely,
flip flops or ponchos. Every single year they are gone.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
That's exactly right. Well, okay, one more thing, so the
hours you're open again? And what about lunch? You can
have lunch there too.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
The cafe is closed this week, just this week, but
they will open back up after Derby.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
It's really good.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Yeah, it's a good spot. Oh, that's a great question.
We packed people in there. We also we have a bar,
and the bar is on the Urban Bourbon Trail, so
we have over two hundred bourbons there and you can
test mount and then usually we have some of those bottles.
You can go ahead and purchase them in the store.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
And you know, if you can't make it in this week,
I mean obviously, just what what are the weekday hours?
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Yeah, so during the spring and the summer, that's when
we open a little earlier, and we're so I think
it's eight o'clock that we open, but we have tours
that go out early in the morning, like seven o'clock. Okay,
before the building actually opens, because you know, that's when
horses are working out, So a lot of our tour
groups are coming in super early. Yeah, Katrina, thanks so much,
(09:30):
Thank you so much for having.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Us Happy Derby, Happy Hraty Derby. All right, Katriina Helmer
with the Kentucky Derby Museum. Here on news radio a
forty whs. Scott Fishell standing by. We're backside Churchill Down's
with lots of sports and lots of coverage on the horses.
All here on news radio a forty whas
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