Norma Miller, now Betts, was 18 and a Jeffersonville High School senior when she watched Omaha race to victory.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — During his long tenure as president of Churchill Downs, Col. Matt Winn introduced several traditions that have endured over time.
According to Chris Goodlett, senior director of curatorial and education at the Kentucky Derby Museum, the garland of roses became a signature feature in the early 1930s while Winn led the track.
Photos from the Associated Press show the 1935 winner Omaha decorated with flowers. He later became the third Triple Crown winner.
Among the thousands who watched that victory was a high school senior named Norma Miller, now known as Norma Betts.
“I remember catching the streetcar from downtown,” Betts said.
Betts graduated from Jeffersonville High School and is now 109 years old.
“Have you ever interviewed someone this old?” Betts asked WHAS11. “Well, now you have.”
The 1935 Derby marked the first one Betts attended. She watched the race from the infield and said she was invited as a guest.
“And I was glad I didn’t have to pay because it was expensive,” she said.
Goodlett said the infield offered a much clearer view of the track in 1935.
“I think it’s important to remember that the track would have looked much different,” Goodlett said. “The turf track wasn’t there in 1935. So consequently, without that turf track and that built environment, you can get much closer to the race track than you can now, especially on the infield side.”
Ninety years after attending the Derby, Betts and her family visited the Kentucky Derby Museum for the first time in 2025. When she returned to Kentucky to visit her daughter, she said she couldn’t wait to see Churchill Downs again.
Although the track has changed significantly over the past 91 years, she said it remains a beautiful sight.
Leave a Reply