Part Two The Kentucky Derby Garland of Roses
Why is the Derby called The Run for the Roses? It's because the winner gets a blanket of over 500 roses after the race. According to Churchill Downs' president Colonel M. Lewis Clark in 1884 each lady would receive a red rose at the parties that were held prior to race day so when the Colonel saw their popularity .. he made the rose the race's official flower. He might have gotten that idea from the wealthy and always extravagantly dressed New York race fan, E. Berry Wall who had given out roses at his lavish Derby party the year before. In 1906, the Derby started taking pictures of its winners and they all are adorned with familiar roses then and thereafter.
Continuing a tradition that has been in place since 1987, onlookers gather at the Middletown, KY Kroger to watch its master floral designers assemble the garland of roses that will be awarded to the winning Kentucky Derby horse.
It takes about a dozen florists and several volunteers seven hours to complete the garland which measures 122 inches long by 22 inches wide and weighs 40 pounds. The assembly team hand inspects about 5,000 Rainforest Alliance Certified roses, choosing only the most perfect flowers which are then sewn into the green satin backing with individual vials of water to keep them fresh. The garland has the seal of the Commonwealth of Kentucky on one end and the Twin Spires and race number on the other. It is also adorned with green fern and ribbon and a single rose points upward at the garland's center to symbolize "the struggle and heart necessary to reach the Derby winner's circle". After the massive garland is finished police escort it to Churchill Downs, where it is put on display and guarded by the U.S. Navy until it is presented to the winner.
The Garland of Roses on Display
The tradition of presenting roses to the winning horse and jockey started in 1896 when the winner, Ben Brush, was given a floral arrangement of white and pink roses along with lilies in a horseshoe-collar form. The gesture took off and by 1904, red roses were the official flower of the Kentucky Derby. The roses were first assembled into the garland, that is seen today, in 1932.
Kroger took over the creation of the garland in 1987 from Kingsley Walker Flowers.
"The adrenalaine flows every year".
Carol Belser, Kroger Floral Delivery Manager (retired)
