Top 5 prized possessions hiding in the Derby Museum vault

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB)-- At the Kentucky Derby Museum under lock and key and in a cloak of mysterious darkness hides some of the biggest pieces of history from the famed track next door.

To touch them requires a title and gloves fit for a mime - Jessica Whitehead has both.

"We are making sure that we are keeping these wonderful items preserved for the future generations," said Whitehead, Senior Curator of Collections at the Kentucky Derby Museum.

She pulled out the best of what's not on display there for WDRB's list of the Top Five most interesting items in the Derby Museum's vault.

#5: Rare Derby glass, that isn't made of glass

They were created for Churchill Downs to be used at the races in the 1940s during World War II.

"When there were restrictions on using glass because of the war," Whitehead explained. "So, this was a form of plastic created called Beetleware."

#4: Japanese Parasol

"This is an amazing piece that maybe you wouldn't expect we would have in this collection," Whitehead said. "This was carried in the winner's circle in 2000 when Fusaichi Pegasus won the Kentucky Derby."

Whitehead added that it signified a shift from the Run for the Roses, being seen as "U.S. thing," to an international spectacle.

#3: Track dirt from 1977

The Kentucky Derby winner that year was a thoroughbred you might've heard of.

"That was Seattle Slew and that was a Triple Crown winner," Whitehead said.

#2: The "Hot to Trot" Hat

"This was worn by a pair of women named Linda," Whitehead remembered. "The two Linda's would alternate wearing this to different Kentucky Derby's."

A giant horse head at the center of the hat made it stand out. "The Linda's" won a couple of fashion shows at the Downs while sporting it.

"It's definitely that stand out, creative campy fashion that we all know and love," Whitehead said.

#1: Handwritten ledger

It dates back to the start of the Louisville Jockey Club.

"Which would later become Churchill Downs," Whitehead added. "This is the very first entry ledger listing all of the entries for that very first Kentucky Derby on May 17, 1875."

There's the first winner listed is legendary thoroughbred Aristides.

"The tradition here is wild," said Derby Museum visitor, Mike Mitchell, from North Carolina.

It could also probably fetch some big money, that could rival any great day at the betting windows.

"We're not able to appraise anything or give value," Whitehead explained.

So we'll call all the pieces of the past--- priceless.