LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Black Gold won the Kentucky Derby a century ago in 1924, and his trophy went missing in 1935.
"He was an amazing horse, very athletic and well-loved," Theresa Collins said. Her great-grandmother, Rosa Hoots, owned the Derby winner.
In a photo, Hoots stands proud holding a 14-karat gold cup trophy in her hand. She was Native American, and was the first woman to ever own a horse that won the Kentucky Derby.
Now Collins is sharing her story.
"She did attend several of his races and she was extremely proud when he won the Derby," she said.
She said her great-grandmother didn't get to keep the trophy for long.
RELATED: A year after tragedy and Kentucky Derby banishment, trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. is back with Catalytic
The gold cup, along with Black Gold's winning portrait, were stolen from their home in 1935.
"It was very tragic for her and she was really never the same after that happened," said Collins.
So where's the trophy, 100 years later? It remains a mystery.
Collins believes it was mismarked in 1985 as the War Admiral trophy and said a 2016 documentary reveals it could belong to her family.
"Well I have my suspicions that it's actually located at the Kentucky Derby Museum," she said.
So WHAS11 reached out to the museum.
They said they have an unidentified object in their vault, and they're in contract with a researcher to determine the originality of that object and where it belongs.
"We're still working with the Kentucky Derby Museum to try and help them see that it is the first trophy," Collins said.
RELATED: 'It's a dream come true': Horse trainer lives out Kentucky Derby dream while battling cancer
After a 24-year long family search, Collins said clues are in her book that will be published this summer titled 'Rosa's Gold: The Rise of the Derby Champion and the Quest for His Stolen Cup.'
"So that they can basically look at it and determine that the cup that they have in their possession is actually Rosa's and Black Gold's trophy," she said.
She hoped this would move the Kentucky Derby Museum to identify the mystery object, and finally get answers to the Derby mystery.
And the family is asking for the public's help; if there's anyone out there who has a better photo of the 1924 trophy, Collins would like to hear from you.
She can be reached by email at colus1776@msn.com.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.