2021 Indianapolis 500 – Bottle of Milk Tradition

The Victory Circle Bottle of Milk Tradition

The beloved Bottle of Milk presented to the winner of the 500-mile classic has been a part of Victory Circle ceremonies for portions of 10 decades – including for 65 consecutive years.

The legendary Louis Meyer, the race’s first three-time winner (1928, ’33, ’36) is recognized as the driver who began the tradition by requesting a cold glass of buttermilk – his favorite beverage – following his victory in 1933. Three years later, Meyer was photographed drinking milk in Victory Lane. Milk was presented off and on during the next several years until, in 1956, the Bottle of Milk was made a permanent part of the post-race celebration by Speedway owner Anton “Tony” Hulman.

The bottles have become prized possessions of race winners, who also receive a $10,000 cash prize for enjoying that long, refreshing, nutritious, ice-cold swig of milk. This year’s champion will be greeted in Victory Circle by American Dairy Association Indiana’s 2021 Veteran Milk Presenter, Hoosier dairy farmer Jill Houin (pronounced WHO-ee-in) of Homestead Dairy in Plymouth, Indiana, and by Tim Haynes, Rookie Milk Presenter and fourth-generation owner of Superior Dairy in Garrett, Indiana.

2021 Veteran Milk Presenter Jill Houin

Born in New Jersey and never having been on a farm, Veteran Milk Presenter Jill Houin experienced culture shock when she married an Indiana dairy farmer named Brian Houin in 2004. Learning to adapt to the country lifestyle, she retired from teaching in 2016 and has become the calf manager at the family’s Homestead Dairy in Plymouth.

Jill also handles all of the farm’s social media, manages its website and gives farm tours to people of all ages who want to learn more about life on a modern dairy farm. She has a passion for teaching consumers about the dairy industry and the way farmers care for their animals and for the environment.

Homestead Dairy is deeply committed to taking care of the land and community where they farm. A methane digester at the farm converts manure into electricity for 1000 homes an hour in Marshall County. A partnership with the University of Notre Dame also collects food scraps for the digester, keeping thousands of pounds of food waste out of landfills.

2021 Rookie Milk Presenter Tim Haynes

Four generations ago, rookie Milk Presenter Tim Haynes’ grandfather started Superior Dairy in the 1940s, and the farm has not been without cows since. Tim and his family have continued to incorporate new technology to create a comfortable home for the cows they milk. They grow most of the feed for the cows on the farm, and employ robots for milking, cleaning and feeding the cows.

In their “smart barn,” the temperature can be regulated by automatic fans, sprinklers and curtains. Cows choose when they want to get milked with the robots, and spend the rest of the day lounging in sand beds with access to ample food and water thanks to automatic waterers and a feed robot named Juno.

This level of automation doesn’t mean that the work is done, though! Each family member plays a special role to ensure the cows have everything they need. Tim and his brother David work with their children and spouses to divide the work on the farm. With around 240 cows at the farm, the Haynes family members specialize in crop management, cow care, public relations and more to keep their cows healthy and happy.