LOUISVILLE (WHAS11) – Even on a rainy Monday, crowds poured into the Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs.
"1895, that's when we constructed the twin spires. They are on the National Historic Registry and we can't change them in any way,” explains Mike Chandler to dozens of people taking a tour of the grounds for the first time.
Chandler gives roughly five tours a day every day since starting as a tour guide just over a year ago.
"My uncle actually worked for Churchill Downs for decades. He got me into it and it's been part of my blood for almost 50 years now,” says Chandler.
He has seen 33 Kentucky derbies in his lifetime watching horses like Secretariat and American Pharaoh cross the finish line. As a race fan himself Chandler can see the sparkle in the eyes of visitors seeing the track he grew up on for the first time.
"A lot of them come in here and say 'I've always wanted to see Churchill Downs. So, this is on their bucket list to see this. A couple of weeks ago this young lady said ‘My husband said I'll either take you to the Derby or I'll take you to Italy for week. You get to pick.’ And she says, ‘I want to go to the Derby.’ And she was so proud of that answer,” said Chandler.
Around every turn of the Kentucky Derby Museum, you will find historic moments that will leave you in awe especially inside their newest exhibit which pays tribute to the only three fillies to ever win the Kentucky Derby.
"The most recent one was Winning Colors back in 1988 and that was with Gary Stevens as the jockey and D. Wayne Lukas as the trainer. You can come in and kind of get a sense of what the girls have done in derby history,” says Lindsay English, Communications Director for the Kentucky Derby Museum.
The iconic trophy sits in a glass case along with Winning Colors’ perfectly preserved 30-year-old garland of roses. For anyone looking to reminisce about some of the greatest horses ever to grace the racetrack, Chandler says this is the place to start.
"I can walk around this museum even today and learn something new that I never knew about. I'd soak it all in. I really would. I'd plan on being here for hours. I would,” said Chandler.
Only 10 percent of what the museum has is out on display. English says new renovations will expand their exhibit space and offer even more for guests to explore.
The Winning Colors exhibit will be open at the Kentucky Derby Museum now through August 31.
The Kentucky Derby Museum is closed to the public this Friday and Saturday for private events but will reopen Sunday.
►Contact reporter Lisa Hutson at lhutson@whas11.com. Follow her on Twitter (@WHAS11Lisa) and Facebook.