Triple Crown winner Justify getting some love at the liquor stores

Fans of Kentucky’s signature industries of bourbon and horse racing got a two-fer on Friday: The Maker’s Mark bottle commemorating Justify’s 2018 Triple Crown went on sale.

At the Beaumont Center Liquor Barn, several hundreds fans were lined up around the store before the doors opened at 9 a.m. to get the all-black bottle topped with green wax. The colors mimic the WinStar silks that jockey Mike Smith wore in the Kentucky Derby. A photo of that win is featured on the bottle as well.

Smith was on hand to sign bottles for Lexington fans, some of whom camped out overnight. He was set to sign until bottles ran out or he had to leave to ride in the feature race at Keeneland on Friday afternoon.

He and trainer Bob Baffert, owner Elliott Walden and Rob Samuels of Maker’s Mark will be at a signing on Oct. 29 at the Kentucky Derby Museum; tickets for that event go on sale at noon on Oct. 23.

The bottle will raise money for the Kentuck Derby Museum and for the Ann Hanley Parkinson’s Research Fund, which underwrites work at the University of Kentucky.

This story was originally published October 19, 2018 at 9:50 AM.