The Kentucky Derby Museum Permanent Collection

The Kentucky Derby Museum houses over 20,000 items consisting of both artifact and library materials.  Artifact collections include items belonging to renowned trainers H.A. “Jimmy” Jones and Woodford C. “Woody” Stephens and world famous jockey Bill Shoemaker.  Library collections consist of books, photos, periodicals, manuscripts and film and video and include written and printed materials documenting the history of Churchill Downs from 1875 to the present day.

One of the Museum’s featured research collections is that of turf and sports writer Jim Bolus.  This collection consists of newspaper articles, handwritten notes, photos and audio interviews documenting the history of the Kentucky Derby and Thoroughbred racing from 1875-1995.  Clicking on the “Begin Search” link to the left will take you to a search engine that provides an overview of the contents of the Bolus Collection.

The research collections of the museum can be viewed in the Colonel Clark Library, open on Tuesdays during normal operating hours and also by appointment.  For more information, please contact the curator of collections at 502-637-1111, ext. 259 or cgoodlett@derbymuseum.org.