History on Tap: The History of the Kentucky Derby in 10 Objects

Name: History on Tap: The History of the Kentucky Derby in 10 Objects
Start: 2025-08-28T18:30:00-05:00
Location: Hopkinsville Brewing Company

Schedule

Thu, 28 Aug, 2025 at 06:30 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

Hopkinsville Brewing Company | Hopkinsville, KY

The Museums of Historic Hopkinsville-Christian County invites you to our next History on Tap on Thursday, August 28 at 6:30pm at Hopkinsville Brewing Company for “The History of the Kentucky Derby in 10 Objects,” an insightful program about the state’s most well-known sports event, with Jessica Whitehead.
Over the last 150 years, the Kentucky Derby, like the state that founded it, has experienced profound moments of social, economic, and cultural change. As one of Kentucky’s flagship cultural and economic institutions, the Thoroughbred racing industry must constantly reconcile with its past and think critically about the stories that have traditionally made it into the winner’s circle. In the right hands, artifacts of material culture related to the Derby have the power to inspire nuanced stories of the past and shed light on marginalized voices in the industry’s history.
In this program, Jessica K. Whitehead sets out to recover this accurate history of America’s longest continuously held sporting event and establish a balance between well-known narratives and those that are less widely shared. Whitehead gives readers a personal tour of this history through 10 historic objects from the museum’s permanent collection – including one with special ties to Hopkinsville and Christian County.
Jessica K. Whitehead is the senior curator of collections for the Kentucky Derby Museum, where she safeguards and interprets the permanent collection of 20,000+ objects, photographs, and archival materials. On behalf of the museum, Whitehead has recently published The History of the Kentucky Derby in 75 Objects and Driftwood: The Life of Harlan Hubbard through the University Press of Kentucky.
History on Tap is a free series that seeks to share local history in a relaxed, fun setting. Programs are typically held on the last Thursday of the month at 6:30pm at Hopkinsville Brewing Company.