March 20, 2025
Clark County country band, 1948
An unidentified country band played for a group of Clark County square dancers in 1948. The dancers were competing for the right to represent Clark County at the Kentucky Press Association-sponsored day at Joyland Park for the benefit of crippled children. This is an unpublished photo from August 1948.
Cigar arrives at the Kentucky Horse Park, 1999
Cigar, the two-time Horse of the Year whose 16-race winning streak was among the top feats in racing history, kicked up his heels after arriving at his new home, the Kentucky Horse Park, on May 2, 1999. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2002, won 19 of 33 career starts and established an earnings record of $9,999,815. The Kentucky Horse Park announced yesterday that Cigar died Tuesday at age 24 from complications after surgery. Photo by Frank Anderson | Staff
Jockey Don Brumfield, 1984
Jockey Don Brumfield looked toward the tote board while leaving the winner’s circle after riding Free Force to victory in The Big Sink stakes at Keeneland Race Course on Oct. 10, 1984. Brumfield won his 16th and final title as the leading jockey at Keeneland. During his 35-year career, Brumfield won 4,573 races in 33,222 rides. He retired from racing in 1989. He rode Kauai King to victory in the 1966 Kentucky Derby. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1996. Ron Garrison | Staff
Fire training, 1948
Lexington firefighters demonstrated an aerial bridge during training at a fire school in 1948. Published in the Lexington Leader on June 10, 1948.
Saratoga restaurant, 1978
The Saratoga restaurant at 856 East High Street was a Chevy Chase landmark and was known for its characters: bookies, college professors, socialites and city hall types. Totsie Rose opened it in 1953 and named it after the famous Saratoga Race Course in New York. This photograph is from April 10, 1978. Ted Mims owned it from 1977 to 1989. He bought it from Ed Whitlock, who had bought it from Rose. Rob Ramsey and Joe Reilly, co-owners of Ramsey’s Diner, also owned it for a short time. A Toga menu, served from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Saturday, featured Mrs. McKinney’s snappy beer cheese ($2.95), fried bologna ($2.50), cold meatloaf on white ($4.95) and a fried egg sandwich ($2.50). The hot plate special for a Kentucky Derby weekend was chicken and dumplings for $6.95. Click here to see an interior view of the restaurant. Photo by John C. Wyatt | Staff
Turfland Mall cinema, 1998
The movie theater in back of Turfland Mall on Harrodsburg Road in Lexington, on July 10, 1998. The mall was Lexington’s first enclosed shopping space when it opened in 1967 with 560,000 square feet and 45 stores, including major tenants McAlpin’s and Montgomery Ward. The mall closed in 2008 and part of it was converted into a Home Depot. The McAlpin’s store shown at right was later turned into a Dillards. Today it is a UKHealthCare health center. Click here to see the cinema sign that was out front on Harrodsburg Road and click on the image above for a closer look.
Florida football coach Steve Spurrier, 1997
Florida coach Steve Spurrier tried to block the late-afternoon sun during his Gators’ 55-28 win over Kentucky on Sept. 27, 1997, in Lexington. Spurrier was 12-0 against the Wildacts while at Florida. At South Carolina, Spurrier is 8-1, with the lone loss coming in 2010. Photo by Janet Worne | Staff
Keeneland Fall Meet, 1949
On Saturday, Oct. 15, 1949, a crowd of 11,446 people arrived to watch the races at Keeneland’s Fall Meet. The grandstands were filled two hours before the first race. Published in the Herald-Leader on Oct. 16, 1949.
Boonesborough bridge, 1945
From left, Judge V.W. Bush of Winchester, William Caywood, Patricia Ann Moore, Lt. Gov. Kenneth H. Tuggle, Mary Elizabeth Moore and B.E. Willis at the “freeing” of the Boonesborough bridge over the Kentucky River in August 1945. Published in the Herald-Leader Aug. 26, 1945.
Horse Mania, 2000
A couple snapped photos of each other next to the Horse Mania horse “Stonewall” on July 27, 2000, at Main and Mill streets in Lexington. The popular public arts project featured 79 horses on display throughout Lexington. Sponsors paid $1,200 for each horse frame and $2,500 for an artist to design the horse. They were then put out for display from July through November 2000. In December, they were auctioned off, generating $750,000 for Lexington Arts and Cultural Council and other causes. “Stonewall” sold for the highest bid: $53,000. Another Horse Mania was launched in 2010 because of the success in 2000. Gallery of some of the Horse Mania 2000 horses. Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu | Staff
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