By Melissa Trenary
This little fellow is all decked out for the 79th Annual Donkey Derby Days.
Donkeys have been permanent citizens of the Cripple Creek District for well more than 100 years. June 26 and 27, the human citizens of Cripple Creek with gather once again to honor the tiny beast of burden.
Donkey Derby Days as it is celebrated nowadays is quite different than it was in the early years.
When gold production began to wane in the late 1920s and early 1930s, Cripple Creek business owners needed to find new and innovative ways to attract customers. Charley Lehew, owner of the Cripple Creek Auto Company, believed that some sort of celebration would be just what the town needed to draw summer tourists.
At that time, a small herd of donkeys would gather each evening in front of the Palace Drug Store to be fed by the owner, Mr. Lynch. As the story goes, Lynch made the remark that there were derbies held for all sorts of animals, so why not have a donkey derby?
Lehew, Lynch and fellow businessman Bryan Jones formed the Miles High Club and got to work planning and marketing the event. They even built a new racetrack at Union Park. All their hard work paid off. On Aug. 15, 1931, Donkey Derby Days was born.
Gov. William Adams was a featured guest and Grand Marshall of the first celebration. He kicked off the weekend with a
View of the Donkey Derby Days Parade Labor Day Weekend 1933. This was the only year it was ever held over that holiday.
tribute to donkeys and miners. Then the governor and his staff led the parade down Bennett Avenue riding donkeys.
The main event of the weekend was the Grand Donkey Sweepstakes. Thirty-five donkeys from as far away as Pennsylvania with names like Sparkplug, Little Rif Raf, Garlick and I’m A Ass were raced in that first Donkey Derby. The only rule was the rider and donkey must cross the finish together, with the rider still astride his donkey. The contestant who crossed first received a silver loving cup.
Other donkey events that first weekend included a Boys Relay Race, a Girls Chariot Race and a Visitors Free-for-all. The winners of these races received $5 in gold.
Donkey races were not the only competitions held. There was a Tug-of-war between Cripple Creek and Victor businessmen, saddle horse races, stockcar races and the Miles High Smoker—a grueling 32 round boxing match.
The first two years, the annual event was held in August. In 1933, the date was changed just for that year to Labor Day Weekend and lasted three days. Donkey Derby Days continued much the same until World War II, when the celebration was suspended for several years.
Ten teams with their donkeys start off on the mile long run in the 2009 Donkey Derby Race. Photo by Melissa Trenary.
In the years following the war, several changes were made to the annual event. The Donkey Derby was no longer run on a circle track, it was run from Bennett Avenue to the Mollie Kathleen Mine and back. It was also during this time the annual event was expanded to include a carnival, a rodeo and hard rock drilling competitions.
In 1950, Donkey Derby Days was held on July 3 and 4. Not only was this the only year the even was held in July, but also it was the only time it was celebrated on two weekdays. The Fourth of July fell on a Tuesday that year.
By 1964, interest in Donkey Derby Days had begun to fade. Once again it was a group of local businessmen who got together. This group included Paul Brown, Harold Hern, Bud Peiffer, Bill Robinson, Bob Schwab and Art Tremayne. They revived the annual summer celebration and also restored Cripple Creek’s donkey herd. It was also during this time the name of the club was changed to Two Mile High Club. The group was not only responsible for organizing and planning Donkey Derby Days, they became the official caretakers of Cripple Creek’s “wild” donkey herd.
In the process of rejuvenating Donkey Derby Days, several major changes were made. The biggest was moving the date from August to June. No one is certain just why the date was changed, but ever since then the last full weekend in June is dedicated to the donkeys.
The second major change was the route of the donkey race. Riders had to start in Victor, ride overland through Altman and Midway finishing up at 1st and Bennett in Cripple Creek. The rules, however, did not change. A contestant still had to cross the finish line astride their donkey.
Around 1964 or 1965, the Businessman’s Donkey Race was born. Local business owners would have to ride a donkey from the Cripple Creek District Museum down Bennett Avenue to the Cripple Creek Inn (where the police station parking lot is now). The Businessman’s race quickly became the most popular event during Donkey Derby Days. It was so popular in fact, that business owners began holding the race every Sunday afternoon throughout the year.
Donkey Derby Days was begun as a way to attract tourists to Cripple Creek. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, marketing Donkey Derby Days became an event itself. Around the first of May, members of the Two Mile High Club would load up several donkeys and take them “on tour” throughout the state. According to former Club President Peiffer, they spent about as much money promoting the annual event as they ever made during the actual event.
“It cost quite a bit to haul those donkeys everywhere,” he said. “But we sure had a good time doing it.”
It was during one of these trips that several of the donkeys were nearly lost. Somehow the latch on the trailer door came loose and the donkeys got out on Highway 24. When the men pulled into Woodland Park, they realized the donkeys were gone. They went back and found the animals walking along the highway just west of Crystola. Luckily, none of them were injured.
Even with the introduction of gambling in the early 1990s, Donkey Derby Days remained much the same. The parade, races and Friday night street dance continued to draw tourists from all over the world.
A new century brought new changes to Donkey Derby Days. Animal Cruelty laws and insurance liabilities have changed the Businessman’s Donkey Race from a riding event to a “push, pull or drag” contest. For several years, a professional pack-burro race replaced the traditional Donkey Derby.
The past two years the actual Donkey Derby Race has been brought back to life. Ten two-person teams race with a donkey along a mile long course throughout downtown Cripple Creek. It has become the most popular event during the weekend. A Saturday night steak dinner has replaced the Friday night street dance.
Yet, no matter how Donkey Derby Days has changed over the years, one thing has remained the same. For one weekend every year, the Donkey is King for a Day.
