Ahead of the May 3 running of the Kentucky Derby, Spalding University held its 52nd Running of the Rodents April 17 in celebration of the Derby season and as stress relief for students.
Teams of students spent about six weeks training rats to race around a miniature track for the grand prize, a garland of fruit-flavored cereal. This year, graduate students, students from the school’s honors program, and members of the softball team trained rodents for the big race.
A rat named “Rocket” was crowned the winner of the Running of the Rodents. “Rocket” was trained by the members of Spalding’s softball team, including Makenna Roush, who placed the garland of cereal around the winner’s tiny neck.
The Running of the Rodents was created in 1973 by Sister of Charity of Nazareth Julia Clare Fontaine after overhearing a student complain about the “rat race” of finals week, according to information from the university’s website.
Since then, it’s become a Derby tradition. The event also serves as stress relief and a way of teaching students about animal care as well as behavior modification techniques, the website said.
