Patrick Armstrong, the President and CEO of the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville, was the guest speaker at the Richmond Rotary Club’s weekly meeting on Wednesday, March 15. Patrick is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing and Management.
Patrick’s career started at the Kentucky Derby Festival in 1987 after graduating from college in 1986. Next, Patrick worked as the Marketing Director for WLKY Television, the Louisville CBS affiliate, and Marketing Services Manage for Clear Channel Radio in Louisville. In 2005, Patrick returned to the Kentucky Derby Festival as the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Development and left in 2015 to join the team at the Kentucky Derby Museum.
Armstrong entertained and educated the club with facts about the Kentucky Derby Museum such as: the Museum is the exclusive tour guide for Churchill Downs, the museum was founded by a donation from the James Graham Brown estate who was the owner of the Brown Hotel and with the assistance of Governor Brereton Jones in 1985; and the Museum is a separate non-profit organization.
Armstrong stated the Museum has an annual budget of $7 million, and the Derby gift shop does approximately $4 million in sales per year with 100 full-time employees and several volunteers. The Museum collects admissions and is the official tour guide for Churchill Downs. More than 240,000 guests visit the Kentucky Derby Museum each year, and the Museum was rented out 340 times in 2022.
Armstrong explained that the next three years should keep the Derby Museum employees quite busy. The Museum is opening a Secretariat: America’s Horse exhibit in April with a dinner and bourbon tasting. Armstrong stated that Secretariat is still the most popular race horse of all-time. The Museum will host the Kentucky Derby Ball on April 28, 2023 which is the Museum’s largest fundraiser.
The Museum has a two-horse stable. One is owned by the Museum and is named Mighty “Ari” Aristides who is a miniature horse. Kids can even join Ari’s fan club. In 2024, Derby winner Mind That Bird will take up residence in the Kentucky Derby Museum stable with Ari. Patrick is working with Calvin Borel, the jockey who rode Mind That Bird to first place in the Kentucky Derby, to make a guest appearance welcoming Mind That Bird to the stable. Also, the Kentucky Derby will host the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby in 2024.
Two new exhibits recently opened at the Museum, one the Bill Shoemaker exhibit who was a four-time winner of the Kentucky Derby and the D. Wayne Lukas exhibit who donated over 1,100 items and trophies to the Museum.
Armstrong invited the members of the Richmond Rotary Club to stop by the Museum and enjoy “The Greatest Race” 18-minute video in the round and reminded the membership that the video is updated each year. Armstrong closed with 2025 will be the 40th anniversary of the Kentucky Derby Museum and plans are underway for some other exciting events.
