Kentucky is a state steeped in tradition. Just the name immediately brings to mind the southern gentility dressed in white, gathered at the Churchill Downs and sipping mint juleps. This is the land of Daniel Boone and Abraham Lincoln, where the sun shines bright and the grass (for a few weeks in spring at least) is blue. Kentucky is primarily a farming state, but is also known for its bourbon whiskey and Thoroughbred racing horses. The Kentucky Derby, run each May in Louisville, is an icon in horse racing and has come to be known as "The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports."

Purchased from the Native Americans in the late 1700s, Kentucky was admitted as a state in 1792, with its capital in Frankfort. During the Civil War, Kentucky officially remained a part of the Union, although many Kentuckians were opposed to the abolition of slavery. A group of Kentucky soldiers passed their own Ordinance of Secession in 1861, establishing the "Convention of the People of Kentucky" (and earning Kentucky a star on the Confederate flag as well).