Currier & Ives stay extended at Kentucky Horse Park

There’s still time to catch the highly acclaimed presentation “The Story of Harness Racing By Currier & Ives and The Kentucky Connection” at the Kentucky Horse Park outside Lexington. Originally scheduled to close on Oct. 21, this exceptional display has been extended until Sunday, Oct. 28.

Produced by The Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame in Goshen, N.Y., the international traveling exhibit highlights the early history of the sport of harness racing through a series of nineteenth century rare Currier and Ives lithographic prints. In addition, and specially created for the Kentucky engagement, visitors will be introduced to a careful selection of important artifacts supporting the state of Kentucky’s significant contributions to the sport, both past and present. Driving colors from various Kentucky Standardbred farms, significant trophies, historic photographs and works of art provide an entertaining overview of the sport from its early days to today’s exhilarating activity all attest to Kentucky’s positive and important influence on today’s Standardbred horse.

                        The objective of the exhibition is to introduce America’s first pastime, harness racing, or ”trotting” as it was originally called, to those unfamiliar with its culture, historic significance and economic impact. The exhibition is comprised of more than 60 original lithographs that illustrate, in an artful way, the birth of the sport and its early accomplishments.  Prints depicting great trotting horses, bucolic mid-19^th century scenes, and comedic adventures, convey a picturesque view of America prior to the advent and development of photography.

The traveling exhibition was launched in 2001 and since then has been enjoyed by nearly half a million people in Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Wisconsin, Maine and Canada. In April 2006 it appeared in the Russell Rotunda of the Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C, for an unprecedented two week stay. Its appearance was sponsored by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Senator Lincoln Chafee (R-RI).

The funding sponsors of the Currier & Ives exhibition are the Patricia S. Winder Fund; The CTW Foundation, Inc.; The Thomas W. and Florence T. Murphy Fund of the New York Community Trust; The State of New York; and the Agriculture and New York State Horse Breeding Development Fund. Annual operational support is provided by the CTW Foundation and Robert Tucker of Stonegate Standardbred Farms of Glen Gardner, NJ. The “Kentucky Connection” presentation is funded by Kentucky Standardbred horse farms and businesses and friends of the sport of harness racing. The exhibition is organized and operated by the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame of Goshen, New York.

Admission to The Kentucky Horse Park and its International Museum of the Horse, open seven days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., is $15 for adults, $8 for children 7-12.  Children six and under are admitted without charge. Additional information on the park and the Currier & Ives exhibit can be found at www.imh.org/museum/index.php or by calling (859) 259-4200. (Harness Racing Hall Of Fame)

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