4-H Alumni Participate in the 2019 Kentucky Derby

By Kittrina Thompson May 06, 2019

Every once in a while, 4-H alumni take center stage at some of the year’s most prominent events. One of those moments happened this weekend, as Georgia 4-H alumna Jennifer Nettles and Arizona 4-H alumnus Bob Baffert took part in the 2019 Kentucky Derby.As you can guess, Grammy award-winning singer Jennifer Nettles lent her powerful vocals to the event as she opened the race with the National Anthem.Dressed in her Derby best, the 4-H National Spokesperson shared her love for the icon Kentucky Derby styles displayed. And in true 4-H fashion, she showed a little love to fellow alum Bob Baffert, recognizing their former 4-H’er status and wishing him well during the race.

“Bob Baffert is a fellow 4-H’er. We both grew up in 4-H,” Nettles shared. “So I’m definitely going to be betting for some of his horses for sure.”

And yes, two-time Triple Crown winner Bob Baffert had three horse in the race. While he was hoping to secure the historical title of three-time Triple Crown winner, his horses, Game Winner, Roadster, and Improbable, placed 4th, 5th and 15th, respectively.

In March, Bob Baffert attended the 10th annual 4-H Legacy Awards, where he received the Distinguished 4-H Alumni Medallion. Before accepting the award, he shared how 4-H prepared him to become the successful horse trainer he is today.

“I learned to communicate with these animals, and [4-H] really helped me through the years,” he said. “So it really helped me down the road to pick horses out, which turned out to win Kentucky Derbies.”

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