This year’s Woodford Reserve Kentucky Derby label was created by Richard Sullivan, a former Atlanta Braves baseball player.
The bottle depicts a stunning watercolor image of thoroughbreds as they thunder toward the finish line, with the famed Twin Spires of Churchill Downs in the background.
The one-liter, Kentucky Derby bottle of Woodford Reserve Bourbon is on sale nationwide and globally, with an SRP of $49.99.
“My goal was to create a beautiful image of the Kentucky Derby that embodies the spirit of competition, dedication, and freedom that is required to be your best,” Sullivan said. “I wanted to capture this intense moment of competition that is shared between the human and equine athlete. A moment when everything is on the line, time stops, awareness is heightened, mind and body are one, and anything is possible.”
Sullivan played baseball at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and, in 2008, he was drafted by the Braves in the 11th round as a junior and played six years of minor league baseball. He returned to SCAD in 2014 to finish his degree and focus exclusively on his artwork.