$4 Million in Flood Damage Closes Kentucky Derby Museum Until 2010

The Kentucky Derby Museum will remain closed for the rest of the year as the tourist attraction showcasing the world’s most famous horse race tries to recover from flood damage.

Flash flooding that hit Louisville in early August swamped the basement and main floor of the museum, located just outside Gate 1 at Churchill Downs.

Museum officials said that insurance estimates for damage and cleanup exceed $4 million.

The officials say the nonprofit museum will have to pay about $100,000 in deductibles and will suffer substantial revenue losses during the closure.

Museum spokeswoman Wendy Treinen says nearly 2,500 items from the collections and archival research departments were damaged beyond repair. Those items included photographs, newspaper clippings, race meet programs and racing forms.