Last year Woodford Reserve gave 50 traditional mint juleps a $1000 upgrade at the Kentucky Derby by using exotic ingredients and serving them in gold cups with silver straws. With the drinks providing such a unique keepsake and proceeds benefiting retired horses and jockeys through Thoroughbred Charities of America, the $1000 juleps were huge a success. So this year they'll be coming around again -- only with even more flair than before.

This year there will be a julep cup representing each of the Derby winners all the way from the first, Aristides, to the most recent, Barbaro. Those two, plus the 11 triple crown winners in between, will be auctioned off online between April 17th and May 1st -- and of course somewhat of a bidding war is expected over Barbaro's cup (it will be interesting to see who wins out on that one). Altogether this year there will be a grand total of 133 special edition mint juleps made, with only 10 being held back for sale at the actual race. In addition to those 10, and the 13 up for online auction, 109 are available to purchase online for $1000 each (first come first buy), and one will be reserved and sent to this year's Derby winner, free of charge.

As before, the juleps will leave nothing wanting in the way of exotic ingredients from around the world, featuring mint from Ireland, organic sugar from Australia, ice from the Bavarian Alps, and of course bourbon from Woodford Reserve.

The Kentucky Derby Gold Cup is the only solid gold trophy still awarded in American sports and has been an annual tradition since the running of the 1924 Derby, when the standard design of the cup was first commissioned.

The Gold Cup is made of 14-karat gold, with an 18-karat gold horseshoe adorning the side and a 14-karat gold horse and jockey topping it. The total weight of the 22-inch high cup is almost 60-ounces, not including the heavy jade base on which it rests. With the exception of the horse and rider that top it, which were cast using a lost wax process, this year's trophy was entirely handmade by New England Sterling of Attleboro, Massachusetts. New England Sterling has been producing the trophies since 1975, maintaining the high standard of quality that has been required for the more than 80 years of the presentation of the trophy. The trophies always remain blank until after the race has been run, when they are engraved with details such as the date and the name of the winning horse.

The current value of the 2004 trophy is listed at $90,000, though the significance of the one-of-a kind trophy makes it priceless.

 

How much does it cost to buy a horse who can "run for the roses" in the Kentucky Derby? The short answer is quite a bit because the training and board, along with travel, vet, equipment and entry fees can be extremely expensive, especially if you want to put your horse with a top trainer. All that aside, there is still the initial cost of the horse.

There are three types of horses running, those sold privately, those sold at auction and homebreds, raised and raced by the same owners. Both private sales and home-raised horses can be difficult to assign a value to, but the results of auctions are made public, which can give us a general idea of what it takes to race.

Sleek, stylish and incredibly appropriate for the start of the Triple Crown racing season, which kicks off next weekend with the 132nd annual Kentucky Derby, the Luella Boston Satchel might be the perfect bag to take to the races. Actually, its textured navy leather would be difficult to match to the appropriate hat if you are actually going to be at the Derby, so perhaps the bag is best used for everyday wear. It is quite roomy at  9 x 14 x 7-inches and has a suede lining with two interior pockets. The thoroughbred design on the front of the bag is applique and all the detailing is done in gold. Price: $975.