From the AP :

The Kentucky Derby will have a sponsor for the first time, striking a five-year deal with a fast-food restaurant company that owns KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut.

Yum Brands Inc., based in Louisville, becomes the first named sponsor of the Derby at Churchill Downs, and the race will be referred to as the Kentucky Derby, presented by Yum Brands, it was announced Wednesday.

The Yum logo will appear under the famed twin spires for the Derby on May 6, and will also be shown on a sign above the starting gate, on the jackets of the pony riders who escort the horses during the post parade, on television billboards and elsewhere around the track.

If Russell Simmons is unavailable for comments, that’s just because I don’t have his phone number.


(Harland would like to have a word with this Kennedy fellow, and perhaps sample the Hyannis Secret Recipe.)

Though this does seem like a rather elaborate way for Taco Bell to introduce horsemeat to their menu, the marketing synergy is too obvious to deny.