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TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Lexington native Caroline Louise Dudley, better known as Mrs. Leslie Carter, who was born in 1857.

On June 10, 1864, the first Confederate Cavalrymen reached Frankfort.  In the previous two days, Morgan’s men had sacked Mt. Sterling, burned the railroad depot and other buildings in Lexington, and headed for Georgetown, where Morgan split his forces.  One attacked Cynthiana and burned most of it to the ground.  The other turned toward Frankfort.

Wednesday, June 10, 1868, General Duke beat five others to win the 2nd Belmont Stakes.  Lexington’s son covered the 1 5/8 miles in 3.03.00 to win $2,800.  The Preakness began in 1873 and the Derby in 1875.

June 10, 1871, the U.S. traveled to Korea to establish trade and political relations, when the trip suddenly turned violent.  Six hundred and fifty Americans landed and killed over 200 Koreans.  Lexington native Lt. Hugh Wilson McKee died, one of three Americans.

June 10, 1883, Fulton County lynched Henry Colbert, a black male, for an attempted rape, the 9th recorded Kentucky lynching from 1882 through 1921 according to the link.

June 10, 1888, Henderson County lynched James Foster, a black male for rape.  Kentucky’s 36th recorded lynching according to the linked source.

Tuesday, June 10, 1890, Morris Park Racecourse hosted the 1 ½ miles Preakness and 1 ¼ miles Belmont Stakes.  The Preakness ran for three-year-olds and upward for the only time.  None of the Derby horses ran in either race.

Wednesday, June 10, 1891, Foxford won the 25th Belmont Stakes by a neck going 1 ¼ miles in 2:08 ¾ on a good track.  The winner took home $5,070.  Garrison up, trained by M. Donavan, and owned by C.E. Rand.  The Preakness did not run.

June 10, 1899, an assailant sniped Tom Baker while being protected by the National Guard at the Clay County Courthouse in Manchester.  Mr. Baker testified in the Wilson Howard murder trial.  Much of the Baker-Howard Feud died after these events.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Benton (Marshall County) native Joe Creason, a newspaper columnist and collector of Kentucky folklore, who was born in 1919.

The 1st political convention was broadcast on radio on June 10, 1924. The GOP held theirs in Cleveland until June 13.

June 10, 1938, Hollywood Park held their opening day.

The 1st triple dead heat in American horse racing history occurred at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens on June 10, 1944, in the 46th running of the Carter Handicap, between Brownie, Bossuet, and Wait a Bit.  This event marked the 1st time a triple dead heat was officially recorded in a major American Thoroughbred race, confirmed by a photo finish.

June 10, 1951, Marine Corps CPL Robert L. Allender from Pewee Valley in Oldham County died fighting in the Korean War.

June 10, 1952, Air Force SSGT Thoma J. Pettit from Covington died fighting in the Korean War.

On June 10, 1952, geologist and engineer Willard Rouse Jillson wrote the introduction to his book The First Oil Well in Kentucky.  The book details the story of the Beatty oil well in Wayne, now McCreary County, in 1818.

June 10, 1953, Army CPL Donald L. Menken from Letcher County died fighting in the Korean War.

On Monday, June 10, 1963, President John F. Kennedy gave his “A Strategy of Peace” speech at American University’s commencement address.  The lecture was unusual in its peaceful outreach to the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War and is one of Kennedy’s finest and most important speeches.

June 10, 1965, Army PFC Walter R. Gray from Big Clifty in Grayson County died fighting in the Vietnam War.

June 10, 1968, Marine Corps LCPL Roger T. Burrows from Georgetown and Army SGT Kenneth D. Hinkle from Manchester, died fighting in the Vietnam War.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Fort Knox (Meade County) native Mike Doughty, born in 1970.  An indie and alternative rock musician, his songs have been featured on TV shows such as Bones, Grey’s Anatomy, Veronica Mars, and many others.

On June 10, 1971, a group of Black athletic officials, athletic directors, and parents filed suit in U.S. District Court to end what they called the “racially discriminatory policies” of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association.  Meanwhile, in Washington, the Federal Trade Commission told U.S. corporations they had to substantiate their advertising claims.

June 10, 1975, three witnesses wanted to oust their boss, Henry E. Cowan, Superintendent of the Kentucky State Penitentiary.  They gave secret testimony to the Governor’s Select Commission.  Critics of Cowan’s administration said he was inept and corrupt.

June 10, 1977, Horse Cave Theatre in Hart County staged its inaugural production, George Bernard Shaw’s CANDIDA, with Warren Hammack directing.  Academy Award-winning actor Jon Voight, Governor J. Carroll, and 353 other patrons dedicated to fulfilling a dream of bringing professional theatre by equity actors to the stage of a long-defunct opera house in a town of 2,000 residents sat in the audience.

June 10, 1982, scientists announced the discovery of the oldest fossil remains of a human ancestor, a four-foot “apeman” with the brain of a chimpanzee but the upright stance of a man.  The creature may have lived four million years ago.

A federal audit conducted on June 10, 1992, showed that Humana Inc. improperly billed Medicare $20,700,000 in 1990.  The illegal costs included motel rooms, $100 bills for Derby guests, and country club dues for their lobbyist.  The bonus payments rewarded the lobbyist for repealing state hospital regulations.

Kentucky Trivia:  Bruce D. Broussard, Humana CEO, made over $16 million annually in 2021.  Other Humana executive 2021 salaries:  Brian A. Kane CFO, over $5.5 million; Timothy S. Huval, Chief Administrative Officer, over $3 million, William K. Fleming Pharmacy Solutions over $3 million, T. Alan Wheatley Retail President over $4 million, and Susan M. Diamond (CFO) over $4 million.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Lexington native Tyler Matl, born in 1994.  Tyler’s singles “Gravity” and “All I Ever Wanted,” earned several awards and some reached top 10 statuses around the globe.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Lexington native Colton Ryan, born in 1995.  Colton is an actor known for his performance as Connor Murphy, in the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen.

June 10, 1995, Kentucky bred, Keeneland graduate, and Kentucky Derby winner Thunder Gulch won the $692,400 Belmont Stakes over ten others in 2:32.02.  He finished 3rd to his stablemate Timber County in the Preakness.  The victory made Lukas the 1st trainer to sweep the Triple Crown (TC) in the same year with different horses.

On June 10, 1998, Linda Brock, an activist from Knox County who strongly opposed surface mining, and James Garrison, owner of Clay County’s largest surface mine, worked together for a common goal: to “fix” old abandoned mines.  They presented a united front to the Federal Office of Surface Mining to thaw a frozen $1.6 billion fund to fix the dangerous ghost pits.

On June 10, 1998, a Florida Jury held the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation responsible for a smoker’s death and ordered the company to pay his family $950,000 – the largest jury verdict ever in a lawsuit over tobacco’s dangers and the 1st award of punitive damages in such a case.  Big money took over in 2002, and an appeals court overturned the verdict.

June 10, 2000, Kentucky bred and Keeneland graduate Commendable won the 132nd Belmont Stakes over ten others for a $1,000,000 purse.  D. Wayne Lukas, Mr. & Mrs. Lewis, and Pat Day completed the winning connections.  Derby and Preakness winners Fusaichi Pegasus and Red Bullet skipped the race, not since 1970 had both winners missed the 3rd leg.  Commendable snapped a six-race losing streak; his last win was his maiden win in August.  He paid $39.40.

On June 10, 2005, Lexington Community College and Central Kentucky Community College merged to become Bluegrass Community and Technical College.  President Michael McCall said the name “more accurately reflects the college’s service area,” which included six campuses in Winchester, Lawrenceburg, Danville, and Lexington.

On June 10, 2006, Kentucky bred and Keeneland graduate Jazil won the Belmont Stakes to give Sheikh Hamdan of Shadwell Farm his 1st U.S. Classic.  The sheik bought him from Lane’s End consignment for $725,000 at the 2004 Keeneland September yearling sale.  Jazil’s half-sister Rags to Riches won the Test of Champions the following year.

June 10, 2009, after months of on-and-off negations, House and Senate leaders shook hands on an agreement to change Kentucky’s public retirement system, an effort aimed at staving off financial ruin.

June 10, 2016, Louisville welcomed home their favorite hometown son one last time.  The 23-mile long Muhammad Ali funeral procession included a drive by of his childhood home on the way to Cave Hill Cemetery.

June 10, 2020, three months after Breonna Taylor died, the Louisville Police Department released the incident report.  The four-page report lacked details and only contained the essential facts already known to the public.  The same police department also announced they would no longer use tear gas on protestors unless specifically ok’d by the Chief.  Meanwhile, in Frankfort, Governor A. Beshear justified the National Guard’s killing of Louisville restaurant owner David McAtee.

On June 10, 2021, the Kentucky Supreme Court heard arguments regarding Governor A. Beshear’s COVID-19 emergency powers and restrictions, specifically addressing Republican-backed laws that aimed to limit his authority to issue emergency orders during the pandemic.  On August 21, 2021, in a unanimous 34-page ruling, the court upheld the new GOP laws limiting Beshear’s emergency powers, ordering the Franklin Circuit Court to dissolve its injunction.

June 10, 2021, nursing homes reported a 44% vaccination rate for employees by a Medicaid survey.  That was one of the 10 lowest rates in the country for such facilities and was significantly less than the 58% vaccination rate for Kentucky adults.

On June 10, 2022, Kentucky reported an increase in positive coronavirus cases across the state, with 16,004 deaths.  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had rated 19 counties “high community levels” and 28 counties “Medium levels.”  In addition, they deemed 90 of the 120 counties as “high community transmission levels.”  Zero of the counties ranked as a “low community transmission level.”  These useless terms are reminiscent of the color codes used by the federal government to judge the probability of a terror attack.  The government used both gauges to keep the public on continual edge.

On June 10, 2023, Kentucky-bred Arcangelo won the 155th running of the Belmont Stakes.  Belmont Park hosted for the 112th time.  Trainer Jena Antonucci became the 1st female trainer to win the historic race, making her the 1st female trainer to win any American TC race.  Javier Castellano and Blue Rose Farm also shared the $1.5 million purse.

On June 10, 2024, Rep. J. Comer, a big baseball fan, posted a video of the last out in the Bat Cats’ historic win.  The game started on June 9.