The Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Kentucky is often referred to as “The Run for the Roses” because a blanket of red roses is awarded to the Derby winner each year.

This tradition began as far back as 1883 when a New York socialite, E Berry Wall, presented roses to ladies at a post-Derby party that was attended by Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark — the then founder and president of the Churchill Downs Derby race track. This gesture is believed to have led Clark to making the rose the race’s official flower.

However, it was not until 1896 that there was any record of the winner being adorned with roses, when Ben Brush received a floral arrangement of white and pink roses after his win. Then in 1904, the red rose became the official flower of the Kentucky Derby.

The tradition was strengthened when in 1925 New York sports columnist Bill Corum — who later became the president of Churchill Downs, dubbed the Kentucky Derby the “Run for the Roses”. The garland as it exists today was first introduced in 1932 for the 58th running won by Burgoo King. Each year, a garland of more than 400 red roses is sewn into a green satin backing with the seal of the Commonwealth on one end and the Twin Spires and number of the race’s current renewal on the other. Each garland is also adorned with a “crown” of roses, green fern and ribbon.

The “crown,” a single rose pointing upward in the centre of the garland, symbolises the struggle and heart necessary to reach the Derby Winner’s Circle. SO shares eye-catching bouquets from this year’s staging of the event snapped at the Louisville Downtown Marriott.