The Kentucky Derby — a touch of glass

The mint julep has been a part of the Kentucky Derby since the very first one in 1875, but the souvenir Kentucky Derby mint julep glass didn't become a thing until 1939.

That was the year after those glasses were going missing like fancy towels at swanky (and not-so-swanky) hotels back in the day. So in 1939, they turned those Derby glasses into souvenirs — and they've been popular ever since.

The design of the glasses have changed each year, but that much. An even bigger constant has been the back of the glass — a listing of the Derby winners from 1875 (Aristides) to eventual Triple Crown winners Sir Barton (1919), War Admiral (1937), Citation (1948), Secretariat (1973) and Justify (2018) among others — and 18-1 shot Mystik Dan last year.

The early mint julep glasses are valuable — a "glass" made of Bakelite in the 1940s because of glass shortages during World War II recently sold for $2,689 on ebay. But Kentucky Derby glasses from the late 1950s and early 1960s can be hand for $10-$25. A set of 51 from 1974-2024 recently sold for $225 with shipping. And you can often find Derby glasses from the 70s to the current year at antique and flea markets for less than $10. That's a pretty good price for a souvenir from one of America's iconic sporting events. The mint juleps themselves cost $22.00 this year.

The glasses are among the cheapest horse racing collectibles you'll find. My favorite is a trio of winning tickets on Secretariat from the 1973 Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes. It might be tough to keep even a $2 winning ticket on Rich Strike in 2022 (80-1) or Mine That Bird (50-1) in 2009. But Secretariat was such a big favorite even in the Derby (3-2), but obviously the Preakness (3-10) and the Belmont Stakes (1-10) that all three winning $2 tickets were worth a grand total of $9.80.

They were anyway. Today, they're worth thousands — a set of all three winning tickets sold for $3,005 on ebay in February. Kudos to the bettor who knew from the beginning he was seeing history and knew how to max out his investment — eventually, anyway — on Secretariat

The Derby has produced some long shot winners in recent years — five of the last six have had double-digit odds. Another big field, a lot of early speed and the possibility of an off track can produce another long shot at Churchill Downs. So keep an eye on Luxor Cafe (15-1), Publisher (20-1), Coal Battle (30-1) and American Promise (30-1) in the Derby on Saturday.