LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It’s perhaps the most unique and longest running exhibit featured at the Kentucky Derby Museum: The Derby Museum Stable, which reopened this summer after a pandemic closure.
Arguably, Amanda Graham has one of the best jobs at the Kentucky Derby Museum. Among her many duties as Equine Manager, Graham spends many hours at the museum stable exhibit. She’s perhaps the only person who can defy the sign that reads: “Do not pet or feed the animals!”
Graham is the caretaker of the museum’s two grand ambassadors. First, there’s the stable’s resident retired thoroughbred, currently the 24-year-old named Rita’s Partner.
“They acclimated very well together, so now they hang out all the time,” Graham said.
Then, there’s Rita’s companion, Mighty Aristides, or Ari for short. Ari is a miniature horse, and the namesake of the Kentucky Derby’s first-ever winner.
Ari quickly become a favorite of museum visitors when he joined the staff in June.
“Ari’s probably going to go right for his food or his cardboard box,” Graham explained.
Ari’s favorite toy in the stable is a large ball he kicks around and, yes, a cardboard box. He can’t get enough of it and Graham can’t get enough of Ari and Rita.
The miniature horse is Rita’s biggest fan, professional friend and they are tasked with keeping each other company during their stable stay. They do everything together because, as we all know, “it takes two to tango.”
However, when you think about it, with Graham spending every day with them, “three’s company.”
“It’s been an interesting experience. I love working here. It’s really fun interacting with the horses and with the general public and the people that come to visit from all around the United States and all around the world,” Graham said.
Graham’s career at the Derby Museum is a far cry from her big city upbringing in Chicago, but it didn’t take long for this city slicker to fall in love with the Bluegrass State. “I had never been around horses until I moved to Kentucky!” Graham said with a laugh.
Rita’s partner and Ari joined the museum staff earlier this summer.
Chris Goodlett is the Director of Curatorial and Educational Affairs and says the museum stable has long been a visitor favorite but was closed down for much of the pandemic. “So we went a couple years without a live exhibit here at the museum. When it returned in June of 2022, people were excited by the news. People are very excited to see the horses,” Goodlett told Spectrum News.
Now, like the Derby itself, the museum stable has returned to all its old glory and leading the way is a mini bearing the name of the Derby’s first-ever winner. Mighty, indeed.