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TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

May 21, 1860, Woodlawn Race Course Association, also known as Saratoga of the West, held their 1st day of racing in Louisville, a track of significant importance during the 1860s.  Organized competitive horse racing in Kentucky was relatively young when they opened.  Woodlawn would close ten years later.

Kentucky Trivia:  A surviving remnant of the Woodlawn Race Course is their trophy, the Woodlawn Vase, the most valuable trophy in sports.  Kentuckian Robert Atchison Alexander commissioned Tiffany and Company to craft the trophy, 1st presented at Woodlawn in 1861.  It now serves as the model for half-size replicas given to the annual winner of the Preakness Stakes.

May 21, 1861, Bourbon County native Thomas Corwin became the U.S. Minister to Mexico, the last position he would hold in an illustrious career.

May 21, 1862, Newport native William H. Horsfall earned the Medal of Honor for saving the life of a wounded officer during the Siege of Corinth in Mississippi.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Shelbyville native and 38th governor (1915-19) Augustus Owsley Stanley, born in 1867.  U.S. Congressman Stanley drove the U.S. Supreme Court to break up the American Tobacco Company’s monopoly in 1911.  Next, he tackled the steel monopolies, gaining national fame.

Tuesday, May 21, 1878, around 6,000 people watched Day Star win the 4th Kentucky Derby against eight rivals going 1 ½ mile in 2:37 ¼, on a dusty track, to set a Derby record.  The winning connections included owner Thomas J. Nichols from Bourbon County, trainer Lee Paul and jockey Jimmy Carter to win $2,970.  John Clay, the son of statesman Henry Clay, bred Day Star.

May 21, 1897, Deputy Sheriff Joseph Patterson, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, died after arresting a man wanted as a witness during the current term of the circuit court.

May 21, 1900, the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision in favor of Governor Beckham, ending Kentucky’s greatest controversy.  Governor Beckham would later win a special election held the following November.  That Kentucky Campaign: Or, The Law, the Ballot and the People in the Goebel-Taylor Contest by R.E. Hughes, F.W. Schaefer and E.L. Williams

May 21, 1906, Special Deputy Sheriff Ward Pentz, Jessamine County Sheriff’s Department, died from an accidental gunshot when he dropped his revolver inside his buggy and it discharged, striking him in the stomach.

May 21, 1914, the gelding Holiday won the 39th Preakness Stakes.  Six entered the 1 1/8 mile contest for the $1,500 purse.  The Derby ran 11 days earlier.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Paducah (McCracken County) native Clarence Edward “Big House” Gaines Sr., born in 1923.

May 21, 1927, Deputy Sheriff Moss J. Metcalf, Harlan County Sheriff’s Office, died from a gunshot while breaking up a disturbance in front of a store near the Wilson-Berger Mine.

On May 21, 1956, the U.S. Air Force successfully dropped and detonated the first known airborne hydrogen bomb during a test called Cherokee.  The bomb was more powerful than all the bombs dropped in WWII.  It was one of 17 nuclear test detonations from May to July 1956 in what the military called Operation Redwing, held at the Bikini and Enewetak atolls.

U.S. Trivia:  President Obama has dropped more bombs than any president, at least 26,171 bombs across seven countries, averaging 72 bombs per day in 2016.  He dropped a total of around 100,000 bombs and authorized over 500 drone strikes, significantly more than his predecessor.  Also, in 2016, U.S. Special Operators grew to be in 70% of the world’s nations: 138 countries—a jump of 130% since G.W. Bush’s administration.

May 21, 1966, Muhammad Ali (24-0) fought Henry Cooper (33-11-1) in the Arsenal Football Stadium, London.  After the controversial first fight, the 2nd was for the world title, but it was fairly anticlimactic.  Cooper, who suffered from even minor cuts, succumbed again to his weakness, and a nasty cut over his left eye stopped the fight after six rounds.

May 21, 1967, Army SP5 William P. Centers Jr. from Lexington died in the Vietnam War.

May 21, 1969, Army PFC Harry D. Ashcroft from Richmond and Army SGT Clarence Sizemore from Manchester in Clay County died in the Vietnam War.

May 21, 1971, Army SP5 Billy J. Jones from Tateville in Pulaski County died in the Vietnam War.

May 21, 1977, watch the 102nd Preakness Stakes.

May 21, 1983, Suffolk Downs aired its 1st simulcast race after the Massachusetts General Court passed a last-minute bill that allowed a track to air and accept bets on races from other tracks.

May 21, 1983, Deputed Testamony won the 108th Preakness Stakes going the 1 3/16 mile in 1:55 2/5 on a sloppy track to win $251,200.

Undeclared, independent presidential candidate H. Ross Perot thanked supporters on May 21, 1992, on the Capitol steps for turning in more than 40,000 signatures to put his name on the Kentucky ballot.  Click to see picture.  Around 1,500 supporters turned out in the hot sunshine as the self-made Texas billionaire brought his grass-roots campaign to the Commonwealth.

May 21, 2000, twenty-two years after winning the Triple Crown and as a retired jockey, Steve Cauthen rode in a High Hope Steeplechase race at the Kentucky Horse Park.  His daughter wanted to see him ride for the 1st time.

May 21, 2002, Kentucky received failing grades for dealing with mentally disabled citizens.  We had the highest per person cost of an eight-state region.  The population also had a higher risk of abuse.  Meanwhile, three Louisville families accused a Lexington Catholic priest of sexual abuse while he worked in Louisville.

May 21, 2004, the state fired/retired/resigned 23 transportation employees for using state computers to look at pornography.

May 21, 2006, Barbaro, 3, underwent surgery on his rind right leg in Pennsylvania one day after the Preakness.  Dr. Richardson, the chief surgeon, gave the operation a 50-50 chance of success.  The Kentucky Derby winner died eight months and eight days later.

May 21, 2007, days before the Memorial Day weekend, state officials put on a tour of Lake Cumberland for reporters aboard a luxury houseboat that showcased abundant waters and refurbished boat ramps.  The state worried the public would stay away after the U.S. Corps of Engineers lowered water levels due to a leak in Wolfe Creek Dam.

On May 21, 2008, gas in Kentucky reached $4.00 a gallon.  In June 1979, gas cost $1 per gallon, and in May 2004, $2.00.  Meanwhile, UK students showed off their solar car they entered in the American Solar Challenge race.

May 21, 2013, Rhonda Monroe, Richie Farmer’s sister, resigned as an assistant executive director of the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance.  The state placed her on paid leave on March 19, a day after she and her brother received multiple ethics violations.

On May 21, 2014, the U.S. Census released information on U.S. city populations.  Louisville reported 612,780 locals, an increase of 15,515 since 2010; however, they dropped two spots to become the 30th largest city.  Lexington’s population was 310,797, 15,000 more than the 2010 census.  Lexington jumped one place and became the 61st largest U.S. city.  Blowing Green, the Commonwealth’s 3rd largest city continued to grow with a 6.1% increase to 62,479.

May 21, 2015, Richmond’s emergency management director resigned because one of his employees stole $341,757 from the department.  Tamara Phelps, 55, received 32 months in prison the following year.

On May 21, 2016, Frankfort released financial information on their lobbyist.  Nearly 700 registered Kentucky corporations submitted precisely how much they paid their employees.  In four months, Bob Babbage earned $324,754 working for 30 clients.  Sean Cutter made $281,792 working for 52 clients.  The list continued, and it was long.

On May 21, 2016, Exaggerator won the 141st Preakness Stakes ending Nyquist’s Triple Crown bid.  The Desormeaux brothers rode and trained the colt to go 1:58.31 on a sloppy track.  The pari-mutuel take of $94,127,434 broke the previous record of $91,028,000 in 2005.

On May 21, 2019, AG Andy Beshear and Governor M. Bevin won their primaries, laying the groundwork for a bitter battle in the November general election, which had been festering for years.  The two rivals who had sniped at each other from their 1st-floor offices in the Capitol settled their differences on election day.

On May 21, 2019, Country Boy Brewing announced $1.8 million expansion of its production brewery and taproom in Georgetown.  The extension gave them an extra production line and a testing room.

Kentucky Trivia: Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co. is the largest beer brewer in Kentucky.  Known for its award-winning barrel-aged beers, it is also the only combination brewery and distillery on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

May 21, 2020, Governor A. Beshear claimed Kentucky “is moving in the right direction.”  As the economy slowly reopened and people began to visit each other again, Andy reminded everyone, “We shouldn’t be touching each other, and when you are in close proximity, wear the mask and don’t touch your face.”  The governor also declared indoor swimming would open to 33% capacity, and the pools would have lane swimming only, for exercise only, and one swimmer in every other lane.  Swimming for fun was prohibited.  Approximately 386 people died with the virus.

May 21, 2020, the Trump administration and AstraZeneca announced a collaboration to speed development of a COVID-19 experimental vaccine called AZD1222; “Phase 3” clinical studies began in the summer.

May 21, 2021, Fayette County officials recommended 523 students from elementary to high school repeat their grade due to virus restrictions.

On May 21, 2022, Rand touted his winner for the “Small Business of the Week” award.  The U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship supports the program where a Senator highlights a small business from their constituents each week.

On May 21, 2024, Kentuckians voted in the primary.  We chose our favorite presidential nominee, congressional seats, except for District 1, state senators, representatives, and judges.  Just 5 votes separated Woody Zorn from Colin McDowell for the 36th District House (Eastern Louisville).  District 6 (Central Kentucky) had the closest Congressional race when Randy Cravens defeated Todd Kelly by 201 votes.  The big upset happened in District 2 when Kimberly Holloway, a Libertarian and Mayfield native, defeated Richard Heath, a powerful Graves County Representative who had held the House seat since 2012 and chaired the House’s agriculture committee.

By May 21, 2024, Bernheim Forest appealed to the Kentucky Supreme Court to stop a fossil fuel pipeline.  In December, the court declined to review the appeal, which upheld the lower courts’ rulings to allow LG&E to use eminent domain to acquire land for a 12-mile natural gas pipeline through the Cedar Grove Wildlife Corridor.  However, the court agreed to hear a separate case from neighboring landowners challenging LG&E’s use of eminent domain, indicating the broader legal battle continues.