Colonel Martin J. "Matt" Winn (June 30, 1861 - October 6, 1949) was a prominent personality in
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
thoroughbred horse racing history and president of
Churchill DownsChurchill Downs, located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, is a thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs has also hosted...
racetrack, home to the
Kentucky DerbyThe Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter miles at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ...
race that he made famous.
A
Louisville, KentuckyLouisville is Kentucky's largest city and county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's estimated population as of 2008 was 713,877 , with a population of 1,244,696 in the Louisville...
, businessman, Matt Winn had been a racing enthusiast since the day his father brought him to see the first running of the Kentucky Derby in 1875. In 1902, when the Churchill Downs racing facility was in serious financial trouble and in danger of closing, Winn formed a syndicate of local investors to take over the operation.
Colonel Martin J. "Matt" Winn (June 30, 1861 - October 6, 1949) was a prominent personality in
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
thoroughbred horse racing history and president of
Churchill DownsChurchill Downs, located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, is a thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs has also hosted...
racetrack, home to the
Kentucky DerbyThe Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter miles at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ...
race that he made famous.
A
Louisville, KentuckyLouisville is Kentucky's largest city and county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's estimated population as of 2008 was 713,877 , with a population of 1,244,696 in the Louisville...
, businessman, Matt Winn had been a racing enthusiast since the day his father brought him to see the first running of the Kentucky Derby in 1875. In 1902, when the Churchill Downs racing facility was in serious financial trouble and in danger of closing, Winn formed a syndicate of local investors to take over the operation. A skilled marketer, in his first year running the racetrack, his renovations to the clubhouse and promotions for the event saw the business make its first-ever annual profit. A few years later, Winn changed the wagering from
bookmakerA bookmaker, or bookie, is an organization or a person that takes bets on sporting and other events at agreed upon odds.- Range of events :...
betting to a
Parimutuel bettingParimutuel betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and a house "take" or "vig" are removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winning bets...
system and in 1911 increased business substantially when he reduced the wager ticket from $5 to $2.
Matt Winn used his understanding of marketing to weave an aura of romance around the Kentucky Derby. In 1915, he convinced the multimillionaire sportsman
Harry Payne WhitneyHarry Payne Whitney was an American businessman, thoroughbred horsebreeder, and member of the prominent Whitney family.- Early years :...
to ship his highly rated
fillyA filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....
Regret- Science :* Regret , an intelligent or emotional dislike for personal past acts and behaviors.* Regret , the difference between expected loss and actual loss- Politics :...
from
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
to Louisville to compete in the Derby. Whitney agreed, and Winn's effort paid off with nationwide publicity surrounding the first filly to ever win the Derby. Winn called Regret's victory a turning point, and he worked to create an event of exotic grandeur that women soon flocked to, coming from both
fashionable societySocial classes are the hierarchical arrangements of people in society as economic or cultural groups. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political economists and social historians...
and the ordinary
working classWorking class is a term used in academic sociology and in ordinary conversation to describe, depending on context and speaker, those employed in lower tier jobs as measured by skill, education, and compensation....
es. Under Winn, the Kentucky Derby became the preeminent thoroughbred horse race in America and in recognition of his accomplishments, the
Governor of KentuckyThe Governor of Kentucky is the head of the executive branch of the U.S. state of Kentucky, and serves as commander-in-chief of the state's army, navy, and militia forces...
bestowed on him the
honorary titleAn honorary title or title of honor is a title bestowed upon individuals or organizations as an award in recognition of their merits.Sometimes the title bears the same or nearly the same name as a title of authority, but the person bestowed does not have to carry any duties, possibly except for...
of
Kentucky ColonelKentucky Colonel is an honorary title bestowed upon individuals by approval of the governor of Kentucky. It is not a military rank, requires no duties, and carries with it no pay or compensation other than membership in the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels. Award of the title requires...
. In 1937, Winn and the Derby made the cover of the May 10th issue of
Time magazine.
In 1944, Colonel Winn collaborated with Frank G. Menke to publish "
Down The Stretch: The Story of Col. Matt J. Winn." He died a few years later in 1949 in Louisville. The
Matt Winn StakesThe Matt Winn Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid May at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Open to three-year-old horses, it is contested on dirt at a distance of six furlongs. The event currently offers a purse of $100,000 added.In 2009 the distance was set...
for three-year-olds held each May at Churchill Downs was named in his honor. He is buried with his family in St. Louis Cemetery, 1215 Barret Avenue, Louisville Kentucky.
External links