In the shadows of the Twin Spires
April 25, 2024
UofL celebrates the 150th anniversary of its most famous neighbor
When the University of Louisville moved to Belknap Campus in 1923, it was welcomed to the neighborhood by the city’s most venerable institution – Churchill Downs.
Since then, with the Twin Spires and now the Big Board video screen visible in the background view from campus, the university and the racetrack have been intrinsically linked. UofL connections abound on Derby Day, from performances by the Marching Band and Cardinal Singers to students and alums working everywhere from the track backside to the media room for the big race.
The connection doesn’t only last for the signature event. UofL nursing faculty run the Kentucky Racing Health Services Center; students participate in internships in business, communication and more; university art classes decorate the track; the Kentucky Cancer Program at UofL supports Oaks Day initiatives; and Churchill Downs Inc. was even the first tenant of the university’s Shelbyhurst business park.
Additionally, UofL Libraries Archives and Special Collections house photography collections with Churchill Downs and Derby-related images dating back to the 1880s. In celebration of the 150th Kentucky Derby, UofL Magazine dug into the university’s Photographic Archives to uncover visuals of Louisville’s day (or week or more) at the races. They include shots from well-known local photographers and UofL students and document events from the race itself to Kentucky Derby Festival staples and college traditions. In all, they provide a historic perspective of the crown jewel of the Triple Crown and all the celebrations that surround it.
UofL’s entry in the 1968 Pegasus Parade was a float designed to look like Grawemeyer Hall. Ruth Ann Hackett, named best dressed, Homecoming Queen Annette Gohmann and Miss University of Louisville Sharon Dawley wait on the float in the staging area before the parade. This photo was taken by Stephen L. Gruebbel, a UofL student and photographer for The Thoroughbred yearbook. More than 1,500 of Gruebbel’s photos of 1968-69 UofL student life are part of UofL’s Photographic Archives.
The infield crowd at the 1978 Kentucky Derby is pictured in this image from the Caufield & Shook Collection. The crowd is gathered around a tent selling mint juleps, with the historic Twin Spires behind it.
In this image from the Caufield & Shook Collection, a group of Derby-goers, several in costume, prepare for the 1937 race. Caufield & Shook Inc. became the official photographer of the Kentucky Derby in 1924. UofL’s Photographic Archives holds about 350,000 negatives, prints, images and records from the Caufield & Shook Collection dating from 1903-1975.
Members of the UofL Marching Band stand with their equipment in a grassy area off the track for the 1958 Kentucky Derby. The Marching Cardinals served as the official band of the Kentucky Derby from 193754, 1956-69 and 1980-present. They are often joined by the Cardinal Singers to perform “My Old Kentucky Home” before the race.
During the 1914 Kentucky Derby, the crowd gathers in the Churchill Downs Clubhouse. Along with those standing at the rail, the ground floor and the balcony, several attendees watched Old Rosebud win the race from their perch on the clubhouse roof. This photo is from the R.G. Potter Collection. Potter was a salesman and part-time photographer and photo collector. The UofL Photographic Archives houses about 10,500 photos from the collection dating from 1880-1970.
Yearbook photographer Stephen L. Gruebbel took multiple shots of the 1968 Pegasus Pedalathon, a bicycle/tricycle racing competition among UofL’s fraternities, sororities and student groups. The race, held in 1968 at Fairgrounds Motor Speedway, used to be held annually during Derby festivities.
Yearbook photographer Stephen L. Gruebbel took multiple shots of the 1968 Pegasus Pedalathon, a bicycle/tricycle racing competition among UofL’s fraternities, sororities and student groups. The race, held in 1968 at Fairgrounds Motor Speedway, used to be held annually during Derby festivities.
Yearbook photographer Stephen L. Gruebbel took multiple shots of the 1968 Pegasus Pedalathon, a bicycle/tricycle racing competition among UofL’s fraternities, sororities and student groups. The race, held in 1968 at Fairgrounds Motor Speedway, used to be held annually during Derby festivities.
Erica Walsh is the marketing director for the Office of Communications and Marketing. Her job lets her share UofL’s good news in all avenues of communications including publications, advertising, content marketing and branding. Walsh joined UofL in 2014 after previously serving as the public relations specialist at Indiana University Southeast. Prior to her career in higher education communications she was an award-winning newspaper reporter. Red is one of her favorite colors and it’s a good thing, too, because she earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Western Kentucky University and her master’s in communication from UofL.