Louisville store specializes in Derby memorabilia

LOUISVILLE, Ky. ( FOX 56 ) — It’s a store that’s easy to miss in the strip of businesses along Louisville’s Dixie Highway. But inside, Derby Sports and Memorabilia stands out.

Owner Steve Witt opened the store in 2016, but he’s been collecting Derby items since he was a teenager.

“When you get the bug, you get the bug,” he said.

He remembers going to Churchill Downs with his dad at age 16 and collecting discarded tickets from the ground. He found that many of them were unclaimed winners.

Now, he owns a store that is crammed full of shirts and signs, pennants, and posters from the past. It’s located about five miles from the track.

His year-round business concentrates on the most exciting two minutes in sports.

“Probably 85% of the store is Kentucky Derby,” he said. He does have some items for fans of the Cincinnati Reds and Louisville Cardinals, but he knows the horse racing items are what cause people to seek him out.

Witt buys the leftover inventories each year from Churchill Downs and other vendors, so collectors know if they wait, they can get many souvenirs much cheaper at his store. For instance, he has racks full of t-shirts that are deeply discounted.

Sean McGladdery found the store while visiting Louisville from Atlanta. “It was a little off the beaten track but my interest was piqued about the memorabilia. There’s just so much about this race around this town; it was an absolute treasure to find it.”

The shop is also something of a museum and Witt is always excited when someone brings him something he’s not seen before.

“Oh yeah, when somebody opens the door and they have boxes in their hands, I say, ‘It’s like Christmas again.'”

No souvenir is more sought-after than the derby glasses that have come out each year since 1938. If you’re trying to collect them all, Witt can help.

Even though the mint julep glasses listing Derby winners seems common, those with printing errors can be quite valuable. Witt can show customers two glasses from 1971 to illustrate that point. The common glass sells for $35. But another one, with the “Kentucky Derby” label missing, is worth up to $300.

He said he encourages people to look at derby glasses any time they see them at yard sales or flea markets. “It’s like a treasure hunt,” he said, emphasizing that a $5 glass could turn into an $800 glass if it contains a printing error.

Witt has a water glass that was used at Churchill Downs in 1939, which is extremely rare. It sold for ten cents then. Now, it’s worth $21,000.

“It’s for sale. I’ll let you take it home, and I’ll put it in a pretty box, too,” he laughed.

Witt said he has just as many Derby items in storage as he has on display, so he is ready to move to a bigger location. He plans to move his store to Mount Washington this summer, and although it’s further away, he’s betting fans will follow. Collectors are always willing to go the extra mile to find a winner.

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