Kentucky Derby: Garland of Roses has Colorful History

A rose by any other name …

On New Year’s Day, more than a million people line the streets of Pasadena to witness the annual Rose Parade (next year’s theme: Best! Day! Ever!) Along with her crown, Miss America receives a gigantic bouquet of iconic red long-stemmed roses. More than 2.8 billion roses (scientific name: Rosa Rubiginosa) are grown every year just for Valentine’s Day.

A Rose by any other name…

But, each year on the first Saturday of May, the question on everyone’s lips is: Who won the Garland of Roses?

We jest! But seriously, over the years, the blanket of roses that is draped over the shoulders of the winner of the Kentucky Derby has come to symbolize the race throughout the world.

The rose garland for the Kentucky Derby winner first appeared in 1896 when Ben Brush was given a floral arrangement of white and pink roses for winning. It is not known whether he ate them or not. Then in 1904, the red rose became the official flower of the Kentucky Derby, and the current form of the garland was first introduced in 1932 for the 58th running won by Burgoo King.

Today, it takes a dozen certified florists and many volunteers to assemble the garland, which is 122 inches long, 22 inches wide and weighs approximately 40 pounds – more than 10 times the weight of the Kentucky Derby trophy (sans its base). It is lined with deep green moire bengaline (a glamorous silk-like fabric of classic drapery weight), with the seal of the Commonwealth of Kentucky embroidered on one end and Churchill Downs’ logo on the other.

The Art of Floral Design: Making the Kentucky Derby Garland of Roses

Hundreds of people gather at the Kroger store in Middletown, Kentucky, to watch one of the world’s most famous floral arrangements take shape, a seven-hour process.

More than 400 pure red Rainforest Alliance Certified “Freedom” roses are used in its creation: each stem is inserted into its own water vial hidden inside the garland backing and hand-sewn into place. The roses are framed with a border of boxwood, camellia, and coffee leaves, and ribbons are tied to fronds at each end and to the crown of roses at the center.

The final step is placing a crown of roses, greenery, and ribbons at the center – one rose for each thoroughbred running in the Kentucky Derby. If a horse is scratched, his rose comes out of the crown.

There is also one special rose at the center to symbolize the struggle and heart necessary to reach the Kentucky Derby winner’s circle. (The winning jockey is traditionally presented with the Jockey’s Bouquet, which is made of 60 matching long-stem roses wrapped with 10 yards of ribbon.)

Traditions and Surprises: The Story of the Kentucky Derby Garland

The finished garland gets a police escort to Churchill Downs, where it is carried into the Clubhouse Garden under the Jockey Club balcony in its special 10-foot-long glass-enclosed case and guarded by the U.S. Navy while on public display, with Kroger designers on hand to answer questions. (The Kroger designers are also responsible for the giant urns of roses in the winner’s circle, using 2,100 roses that didn’t make the cut for the garland). After the viewing, the roses are stored in a room inside the Paddock Runway until they are brought to the Kentucky Derby winner’s circle.

What happens to the garland after the race? Some owners had the flowers dipped in silver, like the one from Gato del Sol’s garland in 1982, which is on display in the Kentucky Derby Museum. Churchill Downs used to create a silk replica of the garland for the owners; nowadays, the garland is freeze-dried and mounted, except on a few occasions.

On the Sunday after the Derby in 2009, the trainer and owners of Derby winner Mine That Bird brought their garland of roses to the front of the Kentucky Derby Museum. They placed the garland on the statue of 2006 Derby winner Barbaro and passed out the roses to all those that came by. California Chrome’s assistant trainer Alan Sherman brought the Garland of Roses to the Derby Museum on Monday after California Chrome’s 2014 Derby win. They put the garland on a long table and surprised people who came to the Museum with a rose from the garland.