Listed here is a very rare membership ribbon for the 1877 Louisville Jockey Club. It originally belonged to the honorable Thomas Jones, who was the congressman from Newport, Kentucky, from 1875-77. The ribbon measures 1.5x10.75" and comes with partial envelope from Jones. In 1872, Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark devised the idea for the club while on a trip to England and France. In 1874, the first public notice of Churchill Downs took place, and on May 17, 1875, the track was formally opened and included three races: the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks and Clark Handicap.