There are many associations that come to mind with the Kentucky Derby. But to be a true participant in the Derby spectacle, one needs a proper Derby hat. The tradition for wearing eye-catching attire to America’s most famous horse race began in the 1870s. The founder of the Kentucky Derby, Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr., was inspired by the fashionable dress codes at events like Ascot in Britain and Paris’s Grand Prix. Creating his own, he figured, would transform his racetrack from a place of ill-repute to one for well-heeled high society.

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Persons: Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr, ”, — Organizations: Kentucky Derby, Paris’s, The New York Times, Derby Locations: Derby, Britain, Churchill Downs