LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It's the greatest two minutes in sports. It's mint juleps, the Twin Spires and the Garland of Roses. Now, a new Kentucky Derby Museum exhibit explores exactly how the Kentucky Derby became what it is today.

The Derby Museum unveiled the new, permanent exhibit on Wednesday. Located on the first floor of the museum at Churchill Downs, This is the Kentucky Derby! answers the question of how the Run for the Roses became a beloved and world-renowned race.

Artifacts, pictures and interactives are spread throughout the exhibit, answering questions like:

• Who started the Kentucky Derby?
• How did the Kentucky Derby become a media sensation? 
• How many millions of dollars flow through the city and state due to the Kentucky Derby? 

Derby Museum president and CEO Patrick Armstrong said tour guides often get the question: "What makes the Kentucky Derby the Kentucky Derby?" And he said it's a hard one to answer.

"It's a complex question because there's no single answer. This is the Kentucky Derby! gives visitors the space and time to explore how the Run for the Roses became the greatest horse race in the world," Armstrong said.

Wednesday's opening celebration opened with a Call to the Post by Churchill Downs Bugler Steve Buttleman, whose iconic garb and bugle are featured in the exhibit.

Other visual focal points of the exhibit include floating replicas of the iconic Twin Spires and a Garland of Roses that spreads petals all over the room.