11/11/2025
It is November already and seems like ages since we got together for our reunion in July. Thought I would post something just for fun. The Kentucky Derby is held every year in May and despite all the prep and festive hats, the race is over in what seems like a moment. What connection does the Parsons family have to the Kentucky Derby? Well...my mom is Nancy Parsons Armstrong, her mom was Lina Darling Parsons (married to Julius E. Parsons). My great Aunt Lois Alta Kilmer Darling married my great Uncle Reeves Darling -- brother to my grandmother. Still with me? Ok. If you are from the greater Binghamton, NY area, the Darling and Kilmer names are all over the place. The Kilmer family made their fortune selling Kilmer's Swamp Root products and many buildings in Binghamton bear their name including the Binghamton Press Building. Willis Sharpe Kilmer owned not one but two horses that won the Kentucky Derby-- Exterminator in 1918 and Reigh Count in 1928. Exterminator was also named American Horse of the Year in 1922. Exterminator was never intended to be the horse that did the racing. He was purchased as a work horse and as a companion to the true champion, Sun Briar. He was called the "truck horse', the "goat", and later in his career "Old Bones". But as all great stories go, Sun Briar pulled up injured on the day of the race and Exterminator was entered at 30 to 1 odds. It was a rainy day and the horse was dead last until he passed all the other horses in the home stretch and won by a horse length. In 2024, Exterminator was inducted into the Greater Binghamton Sports Hall of Fame. Here are some links to more detail. If you are in the Binghamton area and enjoy cemeteries, Exterminator's gravestone is in the former La France Pet Cemetery, now renamed Whispering Pines Pet Cemetery, Binghamton, New York, and is shared with the fellow Kilmer-owned and -raced horses Sun Briar (1915–1943) and the mare Suntica (1929–1947).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willis_Sharpe_Kilmer
https://www.rivahguide.com/1918-kentucky-derby-winner-exterminator/
https://www.americasbestracing.net/the-sport/2024-exterminator-the-legend-old-bones
https://www.twinspires.com/edge/racing/tall-tales-of-the-track-kentucky-derby-edition-the-truck-horse-does-good/ (this has a silent video of the 1918 race)
Another fun fact about my great Aunt Lois Darling and horses is that she would participate in Coaching Weekend which is held every 3 years in Newport, RI and ride atop the coach!
The 1918 Kentucky Derby brought the sport one of its most beloved figures, whose victory showed that great performances could come from unexpected places.
