CRAWFORD | Beneath the Derby Museum, an artist repaints Derby history every spring | Derby News

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — In a workshop tucked into the basement of the Kentucky Derby Museum, Mike Prather stood nose-to-nose this week with a Kentucky Derby winner.

Or what would become one.

Plastic sheets hung from the ceiling around him. Reference photos lay scattered nearby. And under the gentle hiss of an airbrush, last year's Derby champion slowly disappeared beneath this year's.

That's how it works here. Every year, one champion gives way to the next.

Not erased entirely. Just layered over.

For the last 27 years, the La Grange artist has been entrusted with a hidden ritual of Kentucky sports: repainting the Kentucky Derby Museum's winner's-circle horse to match each new Derby champion.

"The calendar flips," Prather said. "And on, we're on to the next horse."

He said it matter-of-factly, almost casually.

La Grange artist Mike Prather works from photos of Derby winner Golden Tempo to recreate the Kentucky Derby Museum's winner's-circle horse for exhibit next month.
ERIC CRAWFORD

Inside the museum, the transformation happens quickly. By early June, the updated replica will stand just inside the entrance in the recreated winner's circle, a fresh garland draped around its neck, greeting visitors after they walk through the museum's starting gate exhibit.

Around it, the rest of the museum will shift, too.

The 360-degree film "The Greatest Race" will be updated. New items from Golden Tempo's history-making Derby-winning team will be added to exhibits. Race footage will appear on nearby monitors. Lobby signs will change. Timelines will advance. Derby 152 merchandise will fill the gift shop.

Kentucky's favorite annual story will begin introducing itself all over again.

Downstairs, Prather helps make the transition believable.

He began Monday morning and expected to finish by Wednesday afternoon, working in layers of color most visitors will never consciously notice.

"You can see, you know, I don't just lay brown here," he explained. "It's a yellow, it's a red, it's a blue, and then at the end I lay some browns on."

That's the thing about Derby horses. From far away, they can look similar enough, sleek bay and brown champions draped in roses.

Up close, every one is different. Which means Prather watches the Kentucky Derby a little differently now.

While most of the country is looking for speed, stamina or a winning ticket, Prather finds himself studying the field for color, markings and possibility. Once the field of 20 is drawn, he said, he starts looking at the horses and thinking, "Boy, that's going to be a really pretty horse to paint."

"We look for the blaze on the front of the horse," he said. "And of course, we'd love a gray to win one year. We think the museum would look so cool up there in the winner circle."

Then, when the race is over, Prather gets closer. Even face-to-face.

He'll go to the barn with a sketchbook, taking pictures and studying the horse up close.

"I would take the sketchbook back there and get this close to the Derby horse," Prather said. "I mean, they were so nice about letting artists and photographers back there."

Prather then studies the photographs. He looks for the small things that make one champion different from another.

A brighter red in the coat. A darker muscle tone. A unique blaze down the face. For Golden Tempo? A single gray hoof.

He shades around the eyes. He recreates the coloring around the hooves. He worries about durability because for the next 365 days, thousands of visitors will stand beside the horse and take photos with it.

"It really makes me want to work that much harder," he said.

The museum's replica tradition dates to Spend A Buck in 1985. Prather inherited the assignment in 1999 after painting a mural at Churchill Downs and being asked an almost casual question by a museum official:

Could he paint the horse, too?

He figured it might be a one-time job.

Then another year came.

Then another.

Then Giacomo. American Pharoah. Justify. Funny Cide. Barbaro. Mage. Mystik Dan. Sovereignty.

Now Golden Tempo.

Nearly three decades later, Prather still waits for the annual phone call.

"It’s an honor to get that call every year,” he said with a smile. "Hey Mike, are you ready?"

Every spring, new hopefuls arrive at Churchill Downs. New owners dream. New fans put on hats and make their way to the rail.

Then another horse wins. Another name goes up in the paddock. Another phone rings in La Grange.

And Prather answers.