Every first Saturday in May, on a one and quarter mile track at the famed Churchill Downs race track in Louisville, the Kentucky Derby is run! The most richly storied of all horse races, the Kentucky Derby starts off the competition for the Triple Crown, most coveted prize in horse racing. Only 11 horses have ever won the U.S. Triple Crown, and none have managed to for 31 years now, since Affirmed in 1978. The 135th running of the Derby aims to change that.

So when you think of Louisville, the Kentucky Derby comes to mind. But to tea lovers everywhere it also is the home to a major Bigelow Tea production facility, producing well over half a billion tea bags a year. And despite the demanding schedule for the production workers at this plant, they always make the time to support community actions like the juvenile diabetes walk, breast cancer walk, local soccer teams, and even taking donations for communities devastated by Mother Nature.

And then…there’s the “Bedknobs and Broomsticks Bed Race”! Yes, that’s right; businesses from around Louisville build and then push their beds through a challenging course to see who has the best and fastest bed design on the road! The Bigelow Tea employees at the Louisville plant have been participating in the Bed Race for several years as part of the Kentucky Derby Festival that surrounds the event.

And while pushing a bed on wheels may not have a direct correlation to making our fantastic tea bags, it sure is a fun activity for all. Perhaps this 2009 Kentucky Derby will start off the first Triple Crown winner in 31 years, and perhaps — just perhaps — the Bigelow Tea Team will post a winner in the 2009 Bedknobs and Broomsticks Race!