World history has long enjoyed a fascination with the horse. Through the horse, travel and farming advanced in the dark ages to bring civilized culture into the future. Horses have long since been replaced with machines that replicate their job faster and more economically. The horse now finds itself in an unusual place, the race is now used as a status symbol and wealthy pet. No event in American culture personifies the luxury status of the horse as does the Kentucky Derby.
Modern horse racing takes its greatest influence from the races put on by the nobility of England. Racing then evolved into a major gambling and social affair, especially in the south. Horse racing in its most recent phase has become rather unimportant, except for the Triple Crown races of the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes.
The Triple Crown alludes to the haughty air of antebellum society that faintly remains in the south. Horses cost thousands of dollars to purchase, even more to house, and even more to train. The fascination of Americans luckily fell upon the Triple Crown races and these races have managed to keep the attention of the American people. An aspect of the horse races is an aspect of fantasy. These races are a glimpse into the lifestyle of the persons who can afford them; furthermore, this glimpse into the past reflects on a quality Americans truly value: victory.
No one even mentions a horse unless it has won all three of the Triple Crown races, such as Secretariat and Seattle Slew. The real star of these derbies and stakes are the high levels of society the races manage to portray to the American population. Without public fascination in the whimsy and needless spending of the horse world, the Kentucky Derby and all the other Triple Crown races would be useless.
American Cultural Icons 