The Kentucky Derby Museum, the 2015 Secretariat Festival, and Secretariat.com have formally applied to Guinness World Records for the world's largest horseshoe.

An exact replica of a shoe worn by Triple Crown winner Secretariat, the finished piece is expected to weigh nearly a half-ton. The museum will formally announce the result of its record-breaking attempt when the shoe is unveiled at 1 p.m. EDT Sept. 20 at the museum.

"For years, we have discussed introducing a special piece into our museum collection and to have this unique shoe representing Secretariat is fantastic," Kentucky Derby Museum president Patrick Armstrong said. "A horseshoe of this magnitude is iconic to our mission and has the potential to be a signature exhibit. Joining forces with Secretariat.com and the Secretariat Festival was the catalyst that made this idea into a reality."

In a release, Armstrong said the museum acquired one of Secretariat's shoes for the base mold and had the project management experience of Leonard Lusky, president of Secretariat.com who oversaw the development and installation of the Barbaro statue at Churchill Downs.

The casting of the shoe was the collaboration of Louisville-based Eagle Sign and Design Inc. and Thoro'bred Inc., maker of the original Secretariat shoe worn during his racing career. Guinness standards were followed from start to finish in the creation of the shoe, and Thoro'bred president Edwin Kinney offered a sizable donation of aircraft aluminum, the same alloy used in the original shoe.

The horseshoe's permanent home will be at the museum, but the exhibit, including a video component, is expected to travel nationwide during the summer of 2016, according to the release.

The horseshoe's debut will be part of a special event at the museum that several members of the Secretariat team, including owner Penny Chenery, jockey Ron Turcotte, and exercise rider Charlie Davis, are expected to attend. The museum said a limited number of VIP tickets for the event are available for $99, representing Secretariat's win in the 99th running of the Kentucky Derby.

The VIP tickets will include a numbered, gold-edition commemorative horseshoe and a special certificate of authenticity signed by the team, the first opportunity to take photos of the proposed world's largest horseshoe, and admission to all museum exhibits.

There will also be an opportunity to meet with and obtain autographs from the Secretariat team for additional fees, with one outside item permitted during the autograph session. An expanded collection of Secretariat items and artifacts will also be exhibited at the museum during the event.

A special excursion package is available from the Secretariat Festival from Lexington to the museum for the day. Tickets can be purchased at both www.derbymuseum.org and www.Secretariat.com.

The Secretariat Festival is an annual public civic event in Paris, Ky., that celebrates the legacy of its namesake and the horse racing heritage of the Bluegrass region. It returns in 2015 for its eighth season Sept. 18-20.

"The world's largest horseshoe is the perfect way to introduce the Secretariat Festival to Louisville, where we have so many wonderful fans," Chenery said in the release. "I like the thought of fans who will travel to see it, and I think it is truly special that Secretariat's place in history will be honored in this way."

"The horseshoe is a piece that will not only commemorate Secretariat's impact on racing but will also expand the Secretariat Festival beyond Bourbon County and garner deserved attention for the treasure that is the equine heritage of Kentucky," Lusky said.

[http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/93900/attempt-made-for-worlds-largest-horseshoe]