On Thursday, January 28, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. the Kentucky Derby Museum staff will reveal renderings with the designs of the new museum. Museum designer, Bruce Lightbody, from California design group Gallagher and Associates will be on hand to give tours and discuss the renovation project with the press.
New themes and concepts for this 5.5 million dollar reconstruction will also be shared with the media along with insights about the vast amount of research, interviews and selection of artifacts needed to generate new content for the exhibits. The first floor of the museum will share a greater emphasis on the Derby fan experience complete with hats, fashion and personal stories. The second floor will explore details about the life of a racehorse from birth to sale to finish line and include personal stories from owners, trainers and jockeys.
Most of the new exhibits are being constructed in Virginia and will be delivered to the museum in the coming months. The first walls will be erected towards the end of this week inside the now gutted facility.
The Kentucky Derby Museum suffered extensive damage from flash flooding on August 4th, 2009. All of the main floor exhibits incurred water damage and faced extensive repairs. On November 2, 2009 the museum announced the massive renovation project to repair and update both the main level and second floor.
