Kentucky Trivia
On November 2, 1820, the city of Franklin incorporated. Throughout the 1820s, famous duels took place at Lincompinch, situated on the KY/TN border in Simpson County. Lincompinch was a dueling ground within the disputed triangle between Kentucky and Tennessee (Black Jack Corner). Today, Franklin is home to Kentucky Downs, one of five horse racing tracks in Kentucky. The population of the fourth-class city was 6,553 in 1970, 7,738 in 1980, 7,607 in 1990, 8,006 in 2000, 8,452 in 2010, and 8,969 in 2018.
November 2, 1824, Isaac Bledsoe Desha, the son of sitting Kentucky governor Joseph Desha committed his 1st murder when he brutally killed 31-year old Francis Baker, the editor of The Mississippian, the newspaper of Natchez. Francis was on his way to his native New Jersey to be married. Locals found Desha guilty and sentenced him to death by hanging. His father pardoned him around his 2nd trial Isaac. He murdered again in Texas after leaving Kentucky.
November 2, 1831, after obtaining permission from the Mexican government to mount an expedition into Native American territory to search for a legendary silver mine, Logan County native James Bowie, his brother Rezin and ten others set out for San Saba. Six miles from their goal, 160 Native Americans looking for a raid greeted them. For the next 13 hours, Bowie and his group fought for their lives. When the Native Americans finally retreated, Bowie reportedly had lost only one man while the enemy lost more than 40 men.
November 2, 1861, the Confederate Army commissioned John C. Breckinridge, a brigadier general. A year earlier, he had run for President of the United States.
The Courier-Journal, November 2, 1867, touted the Greenland Race-Course in downtown Louisville. “Trotting Meeting Forth Day. The fourth day of the races was another splendid fall day, unexceptionable if there had been less wind. The attendance was fair and the sport was excellent. The program for tomorrow is one of the best yet offered on the Greenland Course, and will no doubt call out a correspondingly large attendance.”
November 2, 1895, Belmar won the 29th Belmont Stakes. They ran the race later than usual because it fell under the jurisdiction of the Westchester Racing Association; the New York Jockey Club had closed operations. The field ran 1 ¼ miles, and the winner took home $2,700.
November 2, 1897, Deputy Tes Deakins, of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, died from a gunshot while arrestting a politician who had ambushed a rival candidate earlier in the day.
November 2, 1918, the Kentucky Wildcats played their 2nd game of the season, losing to Vandy in Nashville, 0-33. WWI limited the season to three games with a winning record.
November 2, 1920, Kentucky women were among 8.3 million new voters who were allowed to cast a vote for the first time in American history.
November 2, 1968, Dr. Fager made his final start in the Vosburgh Stakes, with an assigned 139 pounds, the highest ever assigned by track handicapper in a regular stakes event. He completed the seven furlongs in 1:20 1⁄5, a new track record by a full second, and just 1/5 of a second off the world record.
On Election Day, November 2, 1971, four major candidates made the ballot for governor: Democrat Lt. Governor Wendell H. Ford, Republican Thomas Emberton, Independent former Governor “Happy” Chandler, and American Party candidate William Smith. They wanted to replace Governor Louie B. Nunn.
November 2, 1976, President elect Jimmy Carter won Kentucky’s nine electoral votes.
November 2, 1985, Aqueduct hosted the 2nd Breeders’ Cup, and the Juvenile got the day off to a rousing start when Tasso hooked up with Storm Cat. Over the next 20 years, Lexington native William T. Young’s Storm Cat would become one of the world’s most influential sires of thoroughbreds.
On November 2, 1988, the F.B.I. arrested the owner of a Lexington Italian restaurant in what was called “America’s biggest drug bust.” They charged Gennaro Galtieri of Lexitalia with conspiracy to distribute heroin as part of an international Sicilian Mafia drug ring.
November 2, 1991, the 8th Breeders’ Cup and the 2nd held in Kentucky/Churchill Downs featured some brilliant performances by European horses. Sheikh Albadou won the Sprint with the 1st foreign horse to win a BC dirt race. The Classic winner became Horse of the Year.
November 2, 1997, Hank’s Best won the last thoroughbred race run at Bluegrass Downs in Paducah.
November 2, 2006, the #5 Louisville Cardinals hosted #3 W.V. Mountaineers and won 44-34. The Cardinals went on to win the Orange Bowl over Wake Forest 34.
November 2, 2008, 14-year-old Sarah Terry of Mt. Sterling caught the state record Muskie at 54 inches long, 26.5 inches in girth and weighed 47 pounds, besting the previous record by nearly three pounds.
November 2, 2009, John Calipari talked to guard Eric Bledsoe during his 1st game as the head coach of the Wildcats, a 74-38 exhibition win over Campbellsville. “You know, it was neat to walk into an exhibition game and look up in the rafters, and it’s packed,” he said afterward. “I was, like, stunned.”
November 2, 2010, Rand Paul swept into the U.S. Senate by a conservative political tsunami. Voters backed the tea party favorite against Kentucky’s Attorney General Jack Conway.
Friday, November 2, 2012, Santa Anita hosted the 29th Breeders’ Cup. The two-day event began when D. Wayne Lukas won his 18th of 20 Breeders’ Cup races in the Juvenile Spring. Another record-breaker came when the 9-year-old Calidoscopio won the 1 ¾ mile Marathon to become the oldest horse and the 1st one from Argentina to win a BC race. In addition, jockey Mike Smith became the leading BC jockey of all time with 16 wins by capturing the Distaff. BC raced six times on this day and held nine contests on Saturday.
Saturday, November 2, 2013, the 2nd day of the 30th Breeders’ Cup held at Santa Anita, saw increased attendance and wagering over last year, with two-day total attendance up 5% at 94,628, and two-day wagering on the 14 BC races totaling $136,539,014, up 7% compared to wagering on last year’s 15 BC races. The Juvenile Sprint is no longer run. A nose decided the Classic, and Wise Dan returned in the Mile.
November 2, 2014, the Louisville Zoo received a $500,000 donation from the Goldring Family Foundation and their liquor distilling business. The gift brought the campaign donations to $6.6 million of a $10.4 million goal. The money helped renovate the elephant exhibit and paid for a new penguin exhibit. The Zoo’s 10-year master plan had begun.
Friday, November 2, 2018, Churchill Downs hosted the 35th Breeders’ Cup, historic for its revamped two-day format. For the 1st time, all Juvenile races ran on opening day, with a “Future Stars Friday” theme.
November 2, 2018, a judge ordered Katina Powell, the self-proclaimed escort queen at the center of the UofL scandal, to pay restitution and serve two years of diversion when she plead guilty to theft and forgery charges unrelated to the University scandal.
Saturday, November 2, 2019, Santa Anita Park took several actions to increase the safety of horses and jockeys for the 36th Breeders’ Cup. The track closed the downhill turf course which altered turf sprint from 6 1⁄2 furlongs to 5. They also increased the number of veterinarians in attendance, which resulted in several scratches. Despite the precautions, Mongolian Groom received serious injuries running in the Classic and had to be euthanized.
November 2, 2019, The Lion King roared into the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts.
On November 2, 2020, the number of new cases continued to climb as more people got tested. The state reported 1,032, the largest total for a Monday since the pandemic. In addition, five of the last seven days brought record-setting numbers of new cases. “This is getting increasingly more dangerous. This is a huge and significant jump,” the governor stated from a remote location.
On November 2, 2021, Georgetown College fired its President after sexual assault charges became public. The Lexington jail announced they were short nearly 100 officers, while Lexington-based Fazoli’s sold for $150 million to a Lo Angles firm named FAT Brands.