Woodford Reserve, the presenting sponsor of the Kentucky Derby, has unveiled its 2020 commemorative Derby bottle.
This year’s edition, the brand’s 11th to date, features the work of Louisville artist Richard Sullivan. His watercolor image is of thoroughbreds as they thunder toward the finish line, with the famed Twin Spires of Churchill Downs in the background.
“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,” said Richard Sullivan, a former Atlanta Braves baseball player. “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 on his artwork. His work is featured across the United States, including at The Atlanta Braves Truist Park, Mercedes Benz Stadium and the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He also recently collaborated with Topps trading cards to create a series of twenty paintings of rising MLB stars for the Momentum Rising set.
The one-liter bottles of Woodford Reserve Bourbon are on sale across the United States and the globe with a retail price of $49.99. It is available for pre-sale starting March 2nd on Reserve Bar.
