VERSAILLES, Ky. (LEX 18) — This year, the Woodford Reserve $1,000 Mint Julep charity program honors the 50th anniversary of Secretariat's Kentucky Derby win.
A total of 150 cups will be available for purchase starting April 13. Cups must be picked up at Churchill Downs on Derby Day at the $1,000 Mint Julep Experience in the paddock.
Each cup features a design of Secretariat’s famed blue and white checkered silks in sapphires. One side of the cup features an engraving of 1973, the year Secretariat won The Kentucky Derby, and the other features 2023.
Of the 150 cups available, 100 are silver cups retailing for $1,000, and 50 are gold cups retailing for $3,500. Everyone purchasing the gold cups will have their names engraved on the bottom (purchase must be made before April 26) and they will receive the handwritten autograph of Secretariat Jockey Ron Turcotte. All cups will be nestled in silk artwork of Secretariat in the Winner’s Circle at Churchill Downs.
This year, all proceeds benefit the Secretariat Foundation. The foundation was created by Mrs. Penny Chenery, who owned Secretariat, to support thoroughbred and equine-related industries. Chenery passed away in 2017 but her children continue operating the charity in her memory.
