Talk:Kentucky Derby

2022 and 2023 Kentucky Derby. My Old Kentucky Home

See: Talk:My Old Kentucky Home.

See the section about the May 7, 2022 Kentucky Derby. It is about the song My Old Kentucky Home being in the news in a big way concerning the Derby.

I searched these archives: Talk:Kentucky Derby. I did not see any mention of the song or its author, Stephen Foster. --Timeshifter (talk) 02:57, 4 May 2022 (UTC)

They sang it at the race. I heard while watching the broadcast that a-lot of fans in the audience complained about the tradition being dropped. - Knowledgekid87 (talk) 00:54, 8 May 2022 (UTC)

There is more discussion here: Talk:My Old Kentucky Home#Page Updates and the following sections. For example (emphasis added):

From that discussion.

The scholarship on this song is settled that "My Old Kentucky Home" originated as a sentimental minstrel song in the vein of "Old Folks at Home" or "Old Black Joe." These were minstrel songs that removed much of the overt racist imagery and sounds (e.g., dialect) to appeal to white middle class audiences. Contemporary scholarship (particularly the work of historian Emily Bingham) also supports the claim that the song experienced its greatest renaissance during the Jim Crow era as a means of reinscribing a "Southern" image of Kentucky's past. The article as it currently exists downplays the racist history of this song by denying its origin in blackface minstrel music and ignoring the widespread mobilization of the song to portray a romanticized vision of the antebellum South around the turn of the 20th century. I primarily cited secondary literature by historians and musicologists, who provide contemporary primary sources in their work. However, any prose or citations that I've included to support this argument, including those citations of contemporary primary sources, have been removed to preserve a false history that this song's historical legacy is primarily located in an abolitionist history. That is simply not borne out in the scholarly literature.

This is important info in light of recent efforts by some state leaders in various states to censor some info on slavery and racism in school curriculum, and libraries. And to paint slavery as not being that bad.

The controversy over the song at the 2022 Kentucky Derby continued at the 2023 one:

• Controversy continues as ‘My Old Kentucky Home’ tradition rolls on at Derby. April 30, 2023. WAVE (TV).

Emily Bingham, author of the book "My Old Kentucky Home. The Astonishing Life and Reckoning of an Iconic American Song", is also in that news clip. --Timeshifter (talk) 18:37, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

Pronounciation

I'm curious why the American race is pronounced Durby when the race it is named after, the UK Epsom Downs' Derby, is pronounced Darby. Stronach (talk) 12:28, 9 May 2023 (UTC)

Invite to join the Derby 150 article development and backlog drive (relevant article)

WikiProject Louisville		Derby 150 article development and backlog drive
		Help WikiProject Louisville commemorate and celebrate the 150th Kentucky Derby! Join our article development and backlog drive taking place during the period of the Kentucky Derby Festival, April 20 – May 5, 2024. The purpose of this drive is to improve a corner of the Wikipedia related to and timed for this special rare anniversary, as a part of improving the whole encyclopedia. Barnstars will be awarded for participation. Tag your edit summary with [[WP:DERBY150]], both to advertise the event and tally edits for milestone tracking and a possible leaderboard. Interested in helping out? Sign up here. (We're also looking for technical assistance.) Join our festive international Derby party! Mint julep, anyone?

Stefen Tower_{s among the rest!} ^{Gab • Gruntwerk} 17:08, 15 April 2024 (UTC)

Lead development

I am confused by the line in the lead, "The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of 1 +1⁄4 miles (10 furlongs; 2,012 metres), the first time horses in the field race that distance." I don't know enough about this statement to make a change, but it looks like they are saying no 3 year old would have ever raced a distance of 1 1/4 miles. How would you guarantee that? StarHOG (Talk) 00:58, 22 April 2024 (UTC)

I have reviewed this. During a rework of the lead in May 2023, that clause was added but no citation was given for it. Without support from a reliable source, I have removed it. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Stefen Tower_{s among the rest!} ^{Gab • Gruntwerk} 18:10, 23 April 2024 (UTC)