Kentucky Educator Newsletter - Derby Issue
Photo by: Sam English Source: kentuckyderby.com

The Kentucky Derby: 
Celebrating the Horse 

The running of the Kentucky Derby and our rich equine heritage definitely make life unique in our great Commonwealth of Kentucky. Here are a few facts and activities to add to your lesson plans this week:

HORSES BY THE NUMBERS
Have students look at the executive summary of the 2012 Kentucky Equine Survey. Surveyors collected several data points to measure the impact the horse industry has on Kentucky, such as numbers of horses, how they are used, their value, and how much land is dedicated to horse activities. Then have the students answer the following questions based on the information presented:
  1. What is the estimated number of horses in Kentucky?
  2. Which three counties have the most horses?
  3. What breed of horse is most abundant in Kentucky?
  4. How many horses are used in racing?
  5. Digging Deeper: Have students select a horse breed to research on the Internet and give a brief report. Have them print out a picture of each breed so they can see key characteristics that help that breed of horse perform their job. 

Students may also learn more about our horse heritage by watching this video from the Kentucky Horse Council:

 

 


Lessons Adapted from the Kentucky Derby Museum

Derby Experts

Have students read An Introduction to the Kentucky Derby - the "Greatest Two Minutes in Sports" and then write a list of fun Derby facts to ask others. 


 

Class Race

Place each of the Kentucky Derby Winners' names  in a "hat" and have the students draw a horse. Students should research their horse and answer the following questions:

  1. Horse Name
  2. Year the Horse Won the Derby
  3. Time it took the horse to run the race


Record information on this coloring sheet provided by KyAEC. If the students need help, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky_Derby. Some horses' names are linked for additional information. 


 

Optional questions:

Birthplace
Color  
Number of Starts
Number of Wins
 

Once all of the information is recorded, have students line themselves up in order based on the winning time of their horse. The student with the fastest time is the winner.


 

Digging Deeper: Have students plot a line graph of the horses' times by year. Have horses gotten faster, slower, or stayed the same over the past 140 years?


 

Additional Fun:

Horse and Horse Racing Vocabulary

Horse Books to Read

Kentucky Derby Seek n Find


Looking for more ways to bring agriculture to the classroom?

Check out our Pinterest Page
 

Jennifer Elwell
Executive Director
 502-921-2625  
Growing Agricultural and Environmental Literacy in the Bluegrass
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