LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It seems everyone has a specific memory of weather on Kentucky Derby day; whether it was the snow in 1989, last year's record rain, or just uncomfortable temperatures, weather plays a significant role in the Derby experience. There have been a handful of times throughout history where weather has really threatened the Derby race or its success.
1937: This was the great flood in Louisville. Kentucky Derby Museum Collections Manager Jessica Whitehead says, "The [Churchill Downs] property was so damaged by flood waters that that was the only year in recorded history that they considered having to postpone or cancel the Kentucky Derby." Staff worked hard to get the track in shape and the facilities the best that could be expected, and War Admiral went on to win the Triple Crown that year.
1957: It was the coldest Derby on record. The high temperature was 47º, the low was 36º, and winds were blowing from the north at 20-25 mph. "It was so cold and miserable that people weren't really in the mood to be drinking cold mint juleps on that day, so mint julep sales were so low that they had an extreme surplus of the 1957 glass," Whitehead says. "So what do you do with an extreme surplus? Well you reuse it next year." Churchill Downs added 1957 winner Iron Liege to the extra 1957 glasses and sold them as extra souvenir glasses in 1958 along with the glass designed specifically for 1958. Whitehead says the extra 1957 glasses with Iron Liege are a bit more valuable because they are rarer.
2018: This was the wettest Derby on record. Interestingly, the second-place year was 1918 - a perfect century between the wettest years. Last year more than two inches of rain fell in just a few hours. The National Weather Service office in Louisville says 68 of the 144 Derby Days have seen rain at some point during the day. That's 47%. Weather may not be to blame, though, when the favorite doesn't win. In the last 80 years only 19 horses favored before the race have won. That means 61 favorites did not win. Of those 61 only 15 had to deal with showers, thunderstorms, drizzle or snow. So less than 25% of the favorites who lost in the last 80 years could possibly blame the weather.
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