Because the winner gets a blanket of 554 red roses after the race. Whether a horse would rather receive a more practical gift, like some oats or a lump of delicious sugar, is up for debate, but the garland has become a beloved tradition.

The practice springs from Derby parties Louisville's socialites threw in the early days of the race. Each lady would receive a red rose at the parties, and when Churchill Downs' president Colonel Lewis Clark saw their popularity, he made the rose the race's official flower.

According to the Derby's organizers, 1896 Derby winner Ben Brush received the first garland of roses, and in 1925 journalist Bill Corum coined the term "Run for the Roses." The first blanket of roses like the one used today was awarded to the victorious Burgoo King in 1932.

The modern garland is topped with a "crown," a single upturned rose that signifies the struggle a winner must endure. Since 1996, each winner's garland has been immediately freeze-dried for posterity.

very interesting - thanks for the background - didn't know any of this!

I didn't either, despite the fact that I love thoroughbreds.

I am so sad about Eight Belles. It really turned me off horse racing.

Thoroughbreds aren't fully mature at three years old.
Barbaro broke my heart two years ago. If they had an age requirement of at least four or five years before racing
them, Barbaro would be alive and winning today.