The most coveted prize in American Thoroughbred racing (Churchill Downs Photo)

The priceless trophy, which is believed to be the only solid gold trophy presented annually to the winner of an American sports event, will be on display at several public and private events in the weeks before it is formally presented to the winning owner following the May 3 Run for the Roses. The Kentucky Derby winner's trophy is created each year by New England Sterling of Attleboro, Massachusetts, and Marc Forbes, the company's president, personally escorted the 14-karat gold hand-made trophy on its journey to Louisville, Kentucky.

"New England Sterling creates many wonderful pieces each year, but the winner's trophy for the Kentucky Derby clearly remains our most special item," Forbes said. "This solid gold trophy is produced specifically for each year's renewal of the Run for the Roses, and its value is, quite literally, priceless. Our team at New England Sterling is proud to be such an important part of the rich tradition of the Kentucky Derby, one of the world's great sports events."

The current version of the Kentucky Derby winner's trophy dates to 1924, when Col. Matt Winn, Churchill Downs' legendary general manager and eventual track president, commissioned the trophy for the "golden anniversary" running of the race. Two earlier versions of the trophy had been presented to the winning owners in 1922 and 1923.

Outside of jeweled embellishments made to the trophy for the special anniversary renewals in 1949 (75th Derby), 1974 (100th) and 1999 (125th), there has been only one significant change in the trophy's design. That change also came in 1999, when track officials deferred to Thoroughbred racing tradition and changed the direction of a decorative horseshoe on the trophy. The horseshoe had pointed downward on each trophy created since 1924, but the design was altered and the horseshoe was turned up on the 1999 Derby trophy. Racing superstition holds that all of the luck will run out of a horseshoe that is turned downward.