Secretariat’s Horseshoe, Frazier Turret’s D. X. Murphy Architecture, Camps Registration Closes Sunday, and More
Happy Derby week, y’all!
Did you know that the same firm that designed the historic twin spires at Churchill Downs also designed the Frazier’s famous turret on the corner of Ninth and Main?
Twin Spires at Churchill Downs, July 19, 2007. Credit: Abbie Myers.
Turret on the Frazier History Museum, April 27, 2023. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
Isn’t history fun? Each week there are little nuggets gathered and lessons learned in reading this Frazier Weekly. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I want you to know how incredibly grateful we are to have you as a weekly subscriber.
Our object in focus this Derby week is a horseshoe worn by the great Secretariat, on loan from my friend, Dr. James Claypool. Our gift shop is highlighting a ready-to-make mint julep kit, Mick Sullivan dives deep into D. X. Murphy & Bros. architects, and Brian West tells us about an increase in our Black Americans in Bourbon tastings, all in celebration of the first Saturday in May.
We’re also launching a program proving that the celebratory spirit in Louisville extends well beyond Derby. Bourbon & Bites with Bulleit and Blade & Bow is a culinary experience you won’t want to miss on June 29. It comes a week after our second annual Michter’s Speakeasy at the Frazier, so stay in the Derby Festival spirit and plan to be here for both.
If you haven’t yet downloaded Frazier+ (which is free in the App Store and Google Play), the Bourbon Act of 1964 is this week’s featured video. Oh, and if you like what we do, Kentucky Living magazine is crowning the best museum in Kentucky, and we’re a finalist!
We sure would love your vote.
Andy Treinen
President & CEO
Frazier History Museum
This Week in the Museum
Object in Focus: Secretariat’s Horseshoe, c. 1980s
On May 5, 1973, Secretariat won the Kentucky Derby in a record time of 1:59 2/5.
In the Frazier’s pop culture–themed exhibition Cool Kentucky, one of the world-famous thoroughbred’s horseshoes is on display!
At right, Secretariat’s horseshoe, c. 1980s, on display in the Frazier’s Cool Kentucky exhibition. On loan from Dr. James Claypool. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
Detail of photograph of Secretariat at Claiborne Farm, c. 1973–89. Credit: Karl B. Raitz, University of Kentucky Special Collections.
Last week, not knowing much about the object—and anticipating the fiftieth anniversary of Secretariat’s Derby victory, which is Friday—I decided to call the lender: Dr. James Claypool. A professor emeritus of history at North Kentucky University, Dr. Claypool is the author or editor of six books and numerous articles and book reviews.
Foaled in Virginia in 1970, Secretariat was a chestnut stallion who raced from 1972 to 1973. In 1973, he won the American Triple Crown—the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes—and set what remain today the fastest times recorded in each of those three races.
That December, he was syndicated for breeding purposes and stood at stud at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky. He would spend his retirement there until his death in 1989.
During our conversation, Dr. Claypool told me he twice got to see Secretariat in person.
First, he attended the 1973 Kentucky Derby.
“I was seated in the lower grandstand,” he said, noting that he got to witness Secretariat pass Sham, who would ultimately place. Around six months later, Dr. Claypool became friends with both Secretariat’s owner Penny Chenery and his jockey Ron Turcotte. He went on to collaborate on projects with each of them, traveling to Saratoga and visiting Keeneland.
Then, around 1980, Dr. Claypool was invited to tour Claiborne Farm. It was there he got to again lay eyes on Secretariat—who was, by then, a stud. “Like all stallions, when the mares ran up above him in the pasture, he got excited,” Dr. Claypool said. “He acted up some.”
So how did Dr. Claypool come to possess the horseshoe?
“[Secretariat] wore it in the pasture at Claiborne Farm,” he said. “A fellow named Koch was the farm manager. He had given it to my friend, Jim Allen. When Jim died, it passed on to me.”
In 2003, Dr. Claypool received the horseshoe, along with a certificate of authenticity Koch penned affirming Secretariat had indeed worn it.
Stop by the Frazier Museum to see the horseshoe on display! I lead tours of Cool Kentucky each Monday from 11 to 11:25 a.m.
Simon Meiners
Communications & Research Specialist
Museum Shop: Craft Your Own Mint Julep Kit
Craft Your Own Mint Julep kit sold in the Frazier’s Museum Shop. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
Expecting Derby guests? Going to a Derby party? Or just want to celebrate the first Saturday in May? We have something perfect in mind for you: a Mint Julep Kit! Each kit includes Bourbon, mint julep syrup, a vintage Derby glass, and a collectible mint julep pin. They are available in the Frazier’s Museum Shop.
Frazier Lines Up Extra Black Americans in Bourbon Experiences
As the official starting point of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®, the Frazier History Museum shares stories of the people, places, and producers of the Kentucky Bourbon industry. To learn more, visit our Kentucky Bourbon Trail® Welcome Center or tour our Spirit of Kentucky® exhibition.—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist
Teaching artist Brian West leads guests through the Bottle Hall during a Black Americans in Bourbon tasting experience. Credit: Crystal Ludwick, Frazier History Museum.
We are happy to announce the Frazier will have special Derby week offerings of our Black Americans in Bourbon experience. Normally offered only on the third Saturday of each month, there will be three special offerings of the forty-five-minute Bourbon tasting/multicultural experience to celebrate the Run for the Roses. Guests will be able to learn some history about several Black Kentuckians who have made the state’s Bourbon industry what is today. In the process, guests will also be able to sample some tasty Bourbon—and one famous local soft drink, as well.
Our Derby offerings of Unfiltered Truth: Black Americans in Bourbon will occur May 4, 5, and 6 at 1 p.m. For more information or to book a spot, please visit our Black Americans in Bourbon web page. This experience has a limited capacity.
Brian West
Teaching Artist
Architecture Firm D. X. Murphy Designed Twin Spires, Frazier Museum
The grandstand at Churchill Downs, with its iconic Twin Spires, is without a doubt one of the most recognizable sights Louisville has to offer. What you might not know is that the architect who designed it is also responsible for many other iconic buildings throughout the city—including the Frazier Museum.
Dennis Xavier Murphy (1854–1933) was hired by architect Henry Whitestone in 1874. Whitestone’s firm was responsible for the second version of the Galt House, the Peterson-Dumesnil House, and many other important structures. D. X. Murphy took over the firm when Whitestone retired. During Murphy’s tenure, the firm designed much of Whiskey Row, many of Louisville’s Catholic churches, and even a number of private residences.
Churchill Downs, 1901. Credit: Unknown.
Commercial drawing of the Doerhoefer Building, c. early 1900s. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
Most notably, the firm created Presentation High School’s original building in 1893, the grandstand at Churchill Downs in 1895, and the Doerhoefer Building in 1898. The Doerhoefer building, which bears a strong resemblance to the Presentation High School structure, was the original name for the building the Frazier History Museum now calls home.
Murphy employed a Louisville-born draftsman named Joseph Baldez, and Baldez was responsible for many of the flourishes at the grandstand, namely the Twin Spires. Many of the structures he worked on have similar features, so it’s likely the oriel and cupola roof located on the southwest corner of our building came from the same drafting table.
Mick Sullivan
Curator of Guest Experience
Frazier to Close Summer Camps Registration Sunday
Due to demand and limited space, we are closing our camp registrations for the summer on Sunday, May 7! Don’t miss out on your chance to spend the summer learning and having fun with us.
2023 Frazier summer camps graphic. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
Two weeks (July 10–14’s Unseen and Unsolved camp and the July 17–21 Friends and Foes camp) are already sold out! We are still offering those themes during two other weeks. Friends and Foes will run June 26–30 and Unseen and Unsolved will run again July 24–28.
We’re so happy the love and hard work we put into our camps shows, and if you’ve never seen what we’re all about, please come and check us out! Our first and last weeks of camps, Greatest Hits the week of June 5–9 and Around the Frazier in Five Days the week of July 31–August 4, are by-the-day camps, so you can give us a try for just a few days or hang out for a whole week!
Be sure to sign up to see what the hype is about. We’ll be back with more great camps in the winter!
Heather Gotlib
Manager of Youth & Family Programs
Frazier+ Video of the Week: Bourbon Act of 1964
Now the Frazier fits in your pocket! Curated by the museum’s education team, the mobile app Frazier+ provides engaging and educational Kentucky history content—free of charge. Users can explore the museum’s collection of videos, photos, and texts to either heighten their in-person experience or learn from the comfort of their couch or classroom. The free app is available for download for Android and iOS devices through the App Store and Google Play.—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist
There are a lot of myths about what Bourbon can or can’t be. Luckily, Congress ironed out all the details back in 1964. Enjoy this Frazier+ segment we created to shine a light on the Bourbon Act of 1964—while also connecting it all to a movie franchise many of us enjoy, Star Wars.
Mick Sullivan
Curator of Guest Experience
Louisville-Native Author Jermaine Fowler to Discuss The Humanity Archive
I first met Jermaine Fowler not long after I started here at the Frazier History Museum. He came to one of our meetings involving suffrage, and he said he wanted to mingle and meet people. I can’t remember if he was the only man in the crowd (I think he was), but I do remember being struck by his ease in the room, and his knowledge of the people and stories we were sharing that day. Stories that were often overlooked.
Jermaine Fowler. Credit: Jermaine Fowler.
As I learned more about Fowler and his work, I realized that was his work—sharing stories that didn’t make it into the history books. He was sharing them in a podcast, and now a book, and in courses online with his website.
And I want to add he is now a New York Times Best Selling author, from right here in Louisville with his book, The Humanity Archive: Recovering the Soul of Black History from a Whitewashed American Myth.
I am not surprised by his trajectory: there was something about him from the first day I met him.
Now is your chance to see what I saw, as he comes to the Frazier on May 28 to share his stories, his book, and himself. Before the public program, he’ll lead a discussion for members of the Frazier’s Summer Book Club, open to Frazier members (which you can become today for as little as $20). After the public program, he’ll sign copies of The Humanity Archive—which is now sold in the Frazier’s Museum Shop and online.
Here’s a quote from his website. If this doesn’t grab you, nothing will:
“With me as your guide, we’ll embark on a lifelong journey of learning and growth, exploring the depths of our collective past and present to illuminate a brighter future.”
I’m ready for a brighter future. How about you?
See you on May 28.
Rachel Platt
Director of Community Engagement
Vote for Frazier Museum in 2023 Best in Kentucky Awards
Each year, Kentucky Living hosts the Best in Kentucky Awards, a ceremony whose winners are determined by voters. This year, the Frazier is nominated for the Best Museum category!
2023 Best in Kentucky Awards graphic. The awards are sponsored by Hart County Tourism. Credit: Kentucky Living.
If you’ve enjoyed visiting the museum and reading Frazier Weekly, we ask that you vote for the Frazier History Museum, where the world meets Kentucky. Voting starts today [May 1] and ends May 31. You can vote once per day, per email address.
The winners will be announced live on Facebook and YouTube on August 16 and published in Kentucky Living magazine’s September edition and online.
Greg Schoenbaechler
Marketing Manager
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