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An extra special tradition at the 100th running of the Indy 500

_MG_2993It’s the finest tradition of the Indy 500 and Sports Illustrated named it the sports world’s coolest prize.

It’s the bottle of milk handed to the winning driver of the Indianapolis 500 – by an Indiana dairy farmer.

This year –Decatur County’s Janet Dague handed the winning driver that storied sports prize.

She says it’s humbling as a dairy farmer that this has remained a tradition a race day tradition.  “As dairy farmers we work hard every day to provide that nutritious beverage for people to drink,” she says.  “It’s an honor that the Speedway sees how much tradition has gone into that and kept the tradition alive since 1936.”

AUDIO: Janet Dague, Milk Person

Rookie “Milk Man” Joe Kelsay, a dairy farmer from Johnson County says the race is another way to put dairy in the national spotlight.  “Thanks to Louis Meyer, and that tradition that began so long ago – people think about the Indy 500 and think about the winner of the Indy 500 and they think about that drink of milk,” he says.  “It’s an automatic conversation starter about the dairy industry.”

AUDIO: Joe Kelsay, Rookie Milk Man

And this year the winner, Fastest Rookie Alexandar Rossi wasn’t the only one participating in the milk-toast.

Prairie Farms donated 100,000 bottles of milk on race day so the sold-out crowd could also participate in the toast to celebrate the 100th running of the race.

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