May 17, 1825, Marquis de Lafayette sat for Mercer County native Mathew Harris Jouett in his Lexington Short Street studio . The state legislature approved the money to have Jouett paint Lafayette’s portrait. Jouett traveled to Washington to begin the project but missed Lafayette. Henry Clay got involved, and the General instructed Clay to tell Jouett to make a copy of his portrait in the U.S. Capitol (the painting done by Ary Scheffer), and when he arrived in Kentucky, he would sit for the touch up. Or as Jouett put it “corrected whatever had been superinduced by time, change of health, or other circumstances.”
May 17, 1875, Lexington native, U.S. Senator and 14th U.S. V.P. John Cabell Breckinridge died .
Monday, May 17, 1875, ten thousand lucky fans witnessed the 1st Kentucky Derby at the Louisville Jockey Club. The 1 ½ mile ran in 2:37.75. Aristides, a small colt roughly 15 hands, won by two lengths over 14 other contestants. African Americans rode 13 of the 15 thoroughbreds, including the first winner Oliver Lewis. Ansel Williamson, born into slavery, trained Aristides. Hal Price McGrath, a native Kentuckian and owner of gambling parlors in NYC bred Aristides on his extravagant McGrathiana Farm, now known as UK’s Coldstream Farm. The winners didn’t receive roses, but they did win $2,850.
Tuesday, May 17, 1881, Hindoo won the 7th Kentucky Derby in a six-horse field, going 1 ½ miles in 2:40 . The owners, Brooklyn business brothers Phil and Mike Dwyer, hired trainer James Gordon Rowe Sr. Gordon won his 1st of two Derbies. Hall of Fame jockey James A. McLaughlin guided the colt home 1st for $4,410. The minimum bet was $5.00. Hindoo paid $6.60, with no show wagering.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Lexington native Vertner Woodson Tandy , born in 1885 – One of the seven founders (“The Seven Jewels”) of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at Cornell University in 1906 and the 1st Black registered architect in New York.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Louisville native John Patrick Goggin , born in 1905. Soon after his birth, his parents abandoned him. The John Patrick Collection stays at the Rare Book Department of Boston University, including the playwright’s books, letters, and manuscripts. John won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Wednesday, May 17, 1911, Watervale won the 36th Preakness Stakes at 1 1/8 mile in 1:51, setting a new track record.
May 17, 1924, Black Gold won the 50th Kentucky Derby by a ½ length, going the 1 ¼ miles in 2:05.05 for owner Rosa M. Hoots , the 1st woman to own and breed a Kentucky Derby winner. The colt beat 18 others. Horse racing officials banned her husband for life when he ran a horse in a claimer and not handing it over when his horse got claimed. Trainer Hanley Webb and jockey J.D Mooney rounded out the winning connections to split $52,755.
Tuesday, May 17, 1930, Gallant Fox won the 56th running of the Kentucky Derby . The win gave Maryland’s Belair Stud their 1st of three Derbies. It would be the 1st of four Derbies for trainer James E. Fitzsimmons and the last of the three Derbies for jockey Earl Sande. The time of 2:07.60 earned $50,725. Gallant Fox retired at three after winning the 2nd Triple Crown.
May 17, 1946, Stoll Field hosted the Kentucky High School Athletics Association (KHSAA) track and field meet. Click for a picture.
May 17, 1947, see a crowd gathered outside Wheeler’s Restaurant , 110 North Broadway in Lexington, after the restaurant’s proprietor, Guthrie Wheeler, 41, his son Bobbie Lee, 17, and a waitress, Mrs. Mary Hamm, 36, were shot.
May 17, 1951, Army PVT William J. Castleman, Jr. from McCracken County , Army PVT James E. Manning from Knox County, and Army SGT Arthur J. Morse from Harlan County , all died in the Korean War.
On May 17, 1961, Black leaders in Louisville launched a city-wide integration drive of all restaurants, theaters, hotels, and motels by law and voluntary action. They also announced a concentrated effort to get retail establishments to hire more minorities.
May 17, 1970, Army SP4 William W. Colyer from Louisville died in the Vietnam War.
On Saturday, May 17, 1975, Nicholasville dedicated the new and improved Withers Memorial Public Library on the corner of Second and Maple Streets. In 1899, Sarah Rice Withers, a Nicholasville native, donated $32,943 to establish the Withers Library, which opened full-time, six days a week.
May 17, 1980, watch the controversial 105th Preakness Stakes where Jacinto Vasquez riding Genuine Risk claimed a foul claim against Angel Cordero Jr. on Codex for forcing the filly extremely wide in the stretch and shaking his whip in her face. Cordero later received threats against his life and threats to burn his house. Stewards disallowed the foul.
On May 17, 1984, a thoroughbred mare gave birth to a zebra on a farm east of Louisville. Veterinarians implanted the embryo in May 1983.
May 17, 1989, Patrolman Curtis E. Lobb, Greensburg Police Department , suffered a fatal heart attack during a high speed pursuit.
May 17, 1990, while we learned Bill Curry would make 305,000 a year coaching football , 275 people began testifying in their lawsuit against Ashland Oil, Inc. for health and property damage. Curry left in 1996 after a 26-52 record.
On May 17, 1993, the heating unit in Ashland Oil’s refinery exploded and killed Richard Sparks, 38, a 17-year employee. The 10:00 a.m. explosion released a large cloud of vapor hydrocarbons. The state labeled it “a serious situation”, but didn’t evacuate nearby residents. Meanwhile, the state wanted the Magoffin County School Super and a Clinton County school board member fired.
May 17, 1996, the Superfund Cleanup Sites dropped the Valley of the Drums, in Bullitt County , off their list, even though problems continued.
On May 17, 2004, one poll claimed that 70% of Kentuckians favored a state constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriages or civil unions . However, the Courier-Journal Bluegrass poll showed 25% against the ban and 6% undecided.
May 17, 2006, Governor E. Fletcher attended UPS’s announcement of their $750 million expansion . At the time, UPS employed 18,000 and had lured 90 companies to the region.
May 17, 2010, Robert Felner, an ex UofL dean, received a 36-month prison sentence for defrauding UofL and Rhode Island University for $2.3 million. He adamantly denied the charges and claimed certain people didn’t like his personality.
On Tuesday, May 17, 2016, Kentuckians chose Hillary over Bernie in a tight primary race. Jim Gray won the right to race against Rand Paul for Kentucky’s Class III Senate seat in November. Jim, “I have no illusions about it being a challenging race.”
May 17, 2020, as search and seizure law experts debated the no-knock warrant issue , Mitch McConnell pushed the idea of Kentucky filing for bankruptcy over the pandemic, which was odd. The Alabama native never asked his corporate donors to file. Instead, he bailed them all out over and over and over.
On May 17, 2022, Louisa native Noah Thompson received a warm welcome home with a fun-filled parade and decorations throughout the community. In the evening, the 20th American Idol winner played to 10,000 people in the Lawrence County High School football stadium. Noah is the only Kentuckian to win the iconic show.
By May 17, 2023, between MAGA hats and Ukraine flags , it was all just one big greedy joke.
On May 17, 2024, Governor A. Beshear continued to push for healthcare for all. American society would benefit significantly if the overpaid paper pushers and their widely successful scam, they call health insurance, would be outlawed. UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty after one of his employees was shot dead on the streets for excessive denials of customers asking to be healthy, “U.S. healthcare does not work as well as it should.”