Just two weeks before the 100th anniversary of Flying Ebony’s victory during the 51st Kentucky Derby, a 4-H speech by a Christian County Middle School student is garnering awards for discussing the local ties to the winning horse.
Sixth-grader Kali Kington, daughter of Kenneth and Erica Kington, recently presented her speech during the Christian County Communications Day. She won the top spot in her age division.
Flying Ebony’s journey to super-stardom began in 1923, when Christian County horseman Lucian Moseley sent the horse raised at Riverview Farm on Pembroke Road in Christian County on a train to the thoroughbred yearling auction at Saratoga, New York.
As the story evolved, Kington shared that Flying Ebony was not even supposed to race in the first Kentucky Derby broadcast over the radio.
Sande would get permission to run Gifford A. Cochran’s young horse, the rest is history.
Flying Ebony retired to a farm in Lexington and was later sold to an estate in California, where he died in 1943.
Kington shared a bit of inspiration from Flying Ebony’s story.
Flying Ebony’s impact reached far and wide, and his trophy is a part of the permanent display at the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville.
Kington mentioned that the inspiration to prepare a speech about Flying Ebony originated from her family.
She received research support from Museums of Historic Hopkinsville-Christian County’s Learning Coordinator, Brett Pritchett.
Kington will present her speech during the regional Communications Day at Murray State University’s Hopkinsville campus next week.
Kington’s full speech, as aired on the WKDZ Country Club:
