‘A big personality for a miniature horse’: The Kentucky Derby Museum’s undersized employee with a big job

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Kentucky Derby Museum serves as a touchpoint for tourists and racing fans alike to interact with the greatest two minutes in sports year-round: the pageantry, the history, the love of the sport, and the horses who make it all possible. At the stables housed on the campus of Derby Museum, those horses are accessible, all thanks to a tiny horse with a big role to play.

“Ari is his nickname. His real name is Mighty Aristides. He has a big name for a big personality for a miniature horse,” said Katrina Helmer, the communications director for the Kentucky Derby Museum.

Ari came to the Derby Museum six years ago to live at the stables and help transition the thoroughbreds who stay there from life on the track to life on a farm.

“These thoroughbreds have so much energy and personality that they need something with that. They need a friend and a buddy to help keep them calm. So that is Ari’s role,” said Helmer.

Each of those professional race horses that move through the stables is hoping to get adopted and find a new home on a farm. Helmer says since the program started, two of those horses have been adopted, and she credits the role Ari played as having a big part in moving those horses on.

“He still has that feisty personality that will never go away, but being able to see how he’s grown as he’s gotten older and being able to interact and to play and being such a good companion to all these thoroughbreds that are coming through,” said Helmer. “He’s really sinking into his role here,” she continued.

That role starts in the stables, but it continues when volunteers like Dianne take Ari and his thoroughbred companion out for their daily walk. Dianne has been caring for Ari in a part-time capacity since he arrived. In total, she’s worked with the Derby Museum for the last 11 years, calling her time at the organization, “The best part-time job in Jefferson County.”

Those daily walks from the stables, down the tunnel under the grandstand, and into the infield give the horses some time to unwind, snack, and recharge before they go back to being ambassadors for the Derby Museum, especially Ari.

“The vast majority of those people are coming in from out of state. A lot of the time, there’s not racing happening over at the track, so when they’re coming through and they’re doing a tour of the museum, they get to go see the track. And then stopping by the stable, this may be their first time they’ve ever actually seen a horse, let alone a thoroughbred,” said Helmer.

You can visit Ari and the Derby Museum most days out of the year except for Derby Week. During that time, Ari takes his “sabbatical” away from the stables while the excitement around the Downs continues to rise. However, once the garland of roses is handed out, the littlest horse at the track will be back to befriend another horse and give you a taste of the Kentucky Derby.