April 20, 2025
Calumet Farm horse van, 1944
A horse van at Calumet Farm, July 1944. The farm started in 1924 and became an icon of Thoroughbred breeding and racing. During the farm’s heyday, from the 1940s through the 1960s, Calumet horses won eight Kentucky Derbys and two Triple Crowns.
Cynthiana flooding, 1997
Cynthiana residents retreated to the roof of a house near downtown as floodwaters from the South Fork of the Licking River continued to rise on March 2, 1997. Photo by Charles Bertram | Staff
William Shatner in the Junior League Horse Show, 2002
Actor William Shatner drove Revival to victory in the Fine Harness Amateur, Gentleman to Drive class, on the opening night of the 66th annual Lexington Junior League Horse Show on July 8, 2002, at the Red Mile in Lexington. The 2014 horse show begins Monday, July 7, and ends Saturday.
Lexington Junior League Horse Show, 1946
Five Minutes to Midnight, owned and ridden by Jean McLean of Portsmouth, Va., captured the Three-Gaited Amateur Stake at the Lexington Junior League Horse Show in July 1946. The horse show started in 1937, to help finance the Junior League’s community works projects. It grew to be the world’s largest outdoor American Saddlebred show and the first leg of the Saddlebred “Triple Crown.” The 2014 horse show begins Monday, July 7, and ends Saturday.
Paul “Bear” Bryant and Adolph Rupp, 1946
University of Kentucky football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, left, and men’s basketball coach Adolph Rupp. Members of the Kentucky General Assembly and UK coaches were honored on March 7, 1946, at a dinner at the Lafayette Hotel given by Lexington attorney and former state Sen. Rodman W. Keenon. Keenon urged the state legislature to assist the new athletics program at UK.
Thoroughblades store, 1996
The Kentucky Thoroughblades opened a store in The Shops at Lexington Center in March 1996. The store had a giant hockey stick reaching up for three floors and a hockey puck-shaped sign. The Thoroughblades were a minor-league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League from 1996 to 2001. They played their games in Rupp Arena. Photo by Charles Bertram| Herald-Leader Staff
Kids playing marbles, 1942
Children played marbles on the front steps of the Fayette County courthouse in March 1942. From left, Raymond Dunn, Bobby Carlberg, Jimmy Thomas, June Thomas and Arthur Paul Hart Jr. The photo was published March 7, 1942, in the Lexington Herald with a story about spring arriving in Lexington.
Tobacco warehouse, 1997
Lexington farmer James W. Taylor, center, unloaded a tobacco bale from his flatbed truck on Jan. 2, 1997, at the Golden Burley Tobacco Warehouse, 574 Angliana Avenue. At left is Don Columbia and at right is Gilbert Brothers; both are warehouse employees. Taylor, who raised 15 acres, said his total yield would be about 20,000 pounds short because of drought, blue mold and black shank. Photo by David Perry | Herald-Leader staff
July 4 fireworks, 1979
Fireworks above Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington on July 4, 1979. Photo by Charles Bertram | Herald-Leader staff
Waiters’ wine race, July 1983
Martha LaFollette and Chuck Dean approached the finish line on July 4, 1983, to win the Waiters’ Wine Race in downtown Lexington. LaFollette and Dean worked for Joe Bologna’s restaurant. They had placed second in 1982 and first in 1981. The race involved carrying a tray of filled wine glasses through an obstacle course while tied to a teammate. Photo by Gary Landers | Herald-Leader staff
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