1919 Kentucky Derby Ticket is Still a Winner
An eBay seller’s bet had a big payoff when an antique Kentucky Derby ticket sold on the site for over $30,000.
Equestrian enthusiasts recently had a chance to bid on an incredibly rare piece of Kentucky Derby memorabilia. One of the few remaining admission tickets to the 1919 race turned up for sale on the online auction site. When the sale closed on December 3, the ticket sold for an impressive $35,000.
Any paper ticket from over 100 years ago is a rarity. The seller noted in the description, “I have been collecting horse racing memorabilia for 60 years and have only seen two admission tickets from 1919, this being one of them!” Pictures show the ticket in fantastic condition, with a bit of wear around the edges and the paper browned with age, but the background pattern is visible, and all the lettering is clear and legible.
In addition to the ticket’s rarity, compounded by its age and condition, it is a souvenir of a landmark race. The 1919 Kentucky Derby drew 50,000 spectators, a record at the time. Its winner, Sir Barton, went on to win the Preakness and Belmont Stakes races, becoming the first ever Triple Crown winner.
Speaking to memorabilia site cllct.com, Matt Fuller, PSA chief ticket authenticator, corroborated the seller‘s experience, saying, “The PSA pop on this [ticket] is only two.” He called it “arguably the most significant Kentucky Derby ticket a collector could own.”
Cllct.com also pointed out that the ticket’s sale price exceeded the value of the 1919 derby’s prize, $20,800, “albeit not factoring for inflation.”
Despite the ticket’s rarity and significance, its sale price fell short of the record for a horse racing ticket. That would be $45,600 for a ticket to the 1937 Kentucky Derby. That year’s winner was War Admiral, who would also win the Triple Crown and 1937 Horse of the Year.
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