Mine That Bird, winner of the 2009 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), will arrive at the Kentucky Derby Museum April 15 at 11 a.m. for an extended stay.
He will serve as the museum’s resident Thoroughbred through the July 4th holiday.
Trainer Chip Woolley along with owners Mark Allen and Dr. Leonard Blach will also be on hand for the arrival. Allen and Blach personally drove Mine That Bird 1,200 miles to the museum while Woolley set up his stable in Iowa for the upcoming meet at Prairie Meadows.
Mine That Bird was to spend Sunday night as a guest of trainer Donnie Grego at HighPointe Farm and Training Center in La Grange, Kentucky.
Visitors can see Mine That Bird in the museum’s stable free of charge during normal business hours following his arrival.
This is the first time the Kentucky Derby Museum has had a Kentucky Derby winner stabled on the grounds to greet the thousands of Derby enthusiasts during this peak time of year.
Mine That Bird, a bay gelding retired in the fall of 2010, has been stabled in Roswell, N.M., at Allen’s Double Eagle Ranch.
A movie about the Mine That Bird story, called "50-1," has wrapped filming and is in the editing stages with famed director/producer Jim Wilson. Capturing the stories of each of the members of the team along with the legendary drive to Kentucky by Woolley, the movie highlights the unique blend of circumstances that led them to unexpected victory in the Kentucky Derby.
After winning the Kentucky Derby with rail-skimming jockey Calvin Borel, Mine That Bird went on to run second in the Preakness (gr. I) and third in the 2009 Belmont stakes.
The Kentucky Derby Museum most recently showcased Derby contender Perfect Drift (third in 2002 Kentucky Derby) as the resident Thoroughbred on the grounds. Prior to that, it hosted Phantom on Tour, who ran 6th in 1997 Kentucky Derby.