140th Run for the Roses

Any favorites for the 140th Kentucky Derby?  I usually choose my horse by the name while others go by colors.   There are some crazy people that go by the odds-can you imagine? ☺

My choice this year is "Vicar's in Trouble".  The choice was made because I enjoyed the film "Bridget Jones Diary" and in the film she went to a "Tarts and Vicars" party.  

Scientific, huh?

A little about why it is termed "The Run for the Roses":

(From the Derby website)

In 1904 the red rose became the official flower of the Kentucky Derby. The tradition was strengthened when, in 1925, New York sports columnist Bill Corum, later the president of Churchill Downs, dubbed the Kentucky Derby the "Run for the Roses." The garland as it exists today was first introduced in 1932 for the 58th running won by Burgoo King. 

Each year, a garland of more than 400 red roses is sewn into a green satin backing with the seal of the Commonwealth on one end and the Twin Spires and number of the race’s current renewal on the other. Each garland is also adorned with a "crown" of roses, green fern and ribbon. The "crown," a single rose pointing upward in the center of the garland, symbolizes the struggle and heart necessary to reach the Derby Winner’s Circle.

Each year the Governor of Kentucky and other dignitaries also present the winning jockey with a bouquet of 60 long stemmed roses wrapped in 10 yards of ribbon.