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We’re less than a month away from the kick off of the 2018 Kentucky Derby Festival – and there will be even more Festival events for fans to enjoy. New additions to the ever-growing schedule include a new steamboat cruise, flag football, a gala, kickball, zombies, a community-wide clean up, and a move to Southern Indiana. They will be part of the Festival’s schedule of more than 70 events produced each year in the weeks leading up to the first Saturday in May.

“It’s the Festival’s mission to make sure our schedule has a little something for everyone,” said Mike Berry, KDF President & CEO. “We continue to build on the tradition that started in 1956 with a single parade for the community.”

The new events for the 2018 Kentucky Derby Festival include:

  • A Derby Festival event in New Albany, Indiana. The Festival is partnering with the Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County for the new Horseshoe Foundation FamFest on April 11. The family-friendly event will have a special preview of the 2018 Festival, featuring a hot air balloon, inflatables, mini golf and bed races, face painting and more. The first 1,000 attendees receive a custom Pegasus Pin.
  • An effort to help keep the city cleaner and greener. Louisville’s Brightside is making their Community-Wide Cleanup an Official Kentucky Derby Festival event on Saturday, April 14, and will be recruiting volunteers to participate. Contact Brightside for more information.
  • Zombies at Kroger’s Fest-a-Ville. Derby of the Dead Presented by the Louisville Zombie Walk will take over the North Great Lawn on Friday, April 27 complete with live entertainment, zombie themed wares, zombie car show and a zombie make-up demonstration. Admission is free with a 2018 Pegasus Pin.
  • Another chance to ride Louisville’s steamboat. The Derby Festival is partnering with Trilogy to host the Steamboat Race Trial on Monday, April 30. The two hour cruise on the Belle of Louisville will be a relaxing way to start Derby Week, including brunch and live entertainment. Plus it’s a practice run for the Belle, as she prepares for the Great Steamboat Race later that week. Tickets $45. Purchase online at KDF.org or call (502) 584-FEST.
  • Kickball and flag football tournaments on the Great Lawn. LXC Sports will bring their Flag Football and Kickball Showdowns to Kroger’s Fest-a-Ville Derby Week and they’re looking for teams to participate. For more information, check out www.lxcsports.com.
  • A Derby Gala with a grand cause. Louisville Urban League’s Derby Gala is now an Official Kentucky Derby Festival Event. Themed Casino Royale, the 2nd annual Derby Gala will be held at the new OMNI hotel on Wednesday, May 2, Tickets: $250. Purchase online at www.lul.org/events/derby-gala or call (502) 585-4622.

The 2018 Kentucky Derby Festival officially kicks-off on Saturday, April 21, with the Opening Ceremonies – Thunder Over Louisville. Over the course of two weeks each year, the Festival attracts an estimated 1 million patrons to the city for its events. But, more than just fun and entertainment, the Festival also generates in excess of $127 million annually for the local economy. More information on all the events can be found at KDF.org.

Jay Neubacher of Louisville is taking home the title of Derby Burger Champion, in the 7th Annual “Derby Burger Challenge” sponsored by Kentucky Beef Council and coordinated by the Kentucky Derby Festival. Neubacher’s recipe for his “D to the Double B” Burger (Derby Bourbon Burger) was selected as the overall winner after a cook-off this morning at the Kroger in Middletown. It features ground beef, a five spice rub with bourbon smoked paprika, hickory smoked bacon, baby bella mushrooms, onions, chipotle peppers in an adobo sauce, and melted provolone cheese, all served on a brioche bun.

Tailgating at UofL’s football games last season helped lead to this year’s winning burger. “I brought a different burger to each home game and asked my friends to sample and tell me which one they liked best,” said Neubacher. “At the end of the season, the Derby Bourbon Burger was their top choice. The five ingredient spice rub is what makes it unique and helps marry all the flavors together.”

The Festival received dozens of submissions for the annual competition. More than 9,000 beef lovers voted online to help pick the top 4 finalists. At the final cook-off, a panel of judges determined the overall winner based on points accumulated from four factors – Taste, Appearance, Creativity and Ease of Preparation. Alexis Rich of Louisville finished runner up with her Juicy Lou-cy Burger. Other finalists included Lori Poe of Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, with the Asian Burger and Gregory Schaad of Louisville with the Trifecta Burger.

Neubacher’s winning Derby Burger recipe will be available to try at Kroger’s Fest-a-Ville this year during its nine-day run, as well as sampled at BeerFest Presented by American Founders Bank, and recognized in Louisville-area Kroger stores. In May, it will be a featured menu item at Louisville’s Napa River Grill. It will also be featured as part of the grilling series at Turnip the Beet’s summer kids cooking classes.

Neubacher also receives VIP tickets to Thunder Over Louisville, VIP Experience at Waterfront Jam, tickets to BeerFest, as well as a $100 gift certificate to Kroger and a grilling package from Kentucky Beef Council.

From now to April 13, all purchasers of fresh ground beef at any of the 40 Louisville area Kroger stores will receive a coupon at checkout (on the bottom of the receipt). The message includes an entry code to register online at www.kdf.org/beef for a chance to win VIP tickets to a Waterfront Jam Concert at Kroger’s Fest-a-Ville or BeerFest Presented by American Founders Bank.

NBC Sports’ Mike Tirico, host of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, will be the featured speaker at the 62nd Annual They’re Off! Luncheon on Friday, April 20. The luncheon, first held in 1957, serves as the time-honored kick-off to each year’s Festival. It’s the second-oldest event on the Festival schedule.

“I feel like I know Mike already, after spending two weeks watching and cheering on our Olympic athletes,” said Mike Berry, Kentucky Derby Festival President and CEO. “We’re excited to welcome him to Louisville and to hear his stories.”

The luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Galt House East Hotel – site of the festive event since 1974. This year’s event will also feature the presentation of the Kentucky Blood Center Volunteer of the Year Award and the Fifth Third Bank Silver Horseshoe Award for service to the community. Tickets are $85 each or $680 for a table of eight. To purchase tickets or to get additional information, please call (502) 584-FEST or visit KDF.org.

Mike Tirico joined NBC Sports Group in July 2016 working on events including the Olympics, NFL, horse racing, golf, Notre Dame Football, and other big events. In February 2017, Tirico was named NBC’s primetime Olympic host, with his first broadcast in this role to come at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. In the spring of 2017, Tirico debuted as the host of NBC’s Triple Crown horse racing – covering the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. Tirico made his NBC Sports Group debut in July 2016 as host of NBC Sports’ live coverage of The Open from Royal Troon in Scotland. Shortly thereafter, he made his Olympics debut as host for NBC’s daytime coverage of Rio 2016. Also, last fall, Tirico served as host of The Ryder Cup and NBC’s primetime coverage of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. Tirico joined NBC after 25 years at ESPN/ABC, where he established himself as a preeminent broadcaster on properties and events including Monday Night Football, The Open, The Masters, NBA, college football, college basketball, FIFA World Cup, and tennis’ U.S. Open and Wimbledon. In addition, he has hosted SportsCenter coverage of the U.S. Open, The Masters and the Daytona 500, and anchored coverage of the Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four, and NFL Draft for both television and radio

Tirico joins Seth Davis, Jay Bilas, Kenny Mayne, Dick Vitale, Terry Bradshaw, Erin Andrews, Bill Walton, Archie Manning, Greg Gumbel, Magic Johnson, Julius Erving, Larry King, Bob Costas, Robin Roberts, Cawood Ledford, Phil Simms and Howard Cosell in a long list of luminaries who have entertained They’re Off! Luncheon audiences for the past 60 years.

Contributing sponsors for the event are Fifth Third Bank, Kentucky Blood Center, and Kentucky Proud with Media Sponsor Business First. Official Hotel: The Galt House.

Ordering Papa John’s pizza will help support this year’s Thunder Over Louisville, now just one month away. Papa John’s and Kentucky Derby Festival officials announced this morning that Papa John’s is the new title sponsor of the Thunder Funder program. The program2 helps raise funds for Thunder Over Louisville – the Derby Festival’s Opening Ceremonies set for April 21. Beginning today, participating Papa John’s locations will donate $1.00 of every Thunder Fireworks pizza purchased to help support Thunder. The Thunder Fireworks pizza must be ordered online at PapaJohns.com using the online promo code THUNDERPIZZA.

“Thanks to Papa John’s, supporting Thunder Over Louisville this year will be as easy as ordering a pizza,”
said Mike Berry, Kentucky Derby Festival President and CEO. “Without the support of community-minded partners like Papa John’s, we couldn’t produce the show fans have come to expect and anticipate.”

Papa John’s is renaming their popular “Works” pizza to the “Thunder Fireworks” pizza for the special promotion, which will last from now through May 6, 2018. The pizza features pepperoni, Canadian bacon, spicy Italian sausage, onions, green peppers, mushrooms and black olives.

“Papa John’s has been a proud Kentucky Derby Festival sponsor for the past 15 years. For the first time, we’re excited to be the title sponsor of the Thunder Funder Program,” said Hillary Simmons, Papa John’s Community Project Specialist. “Through the Thunder Funder Program, we continue to build upon our community-focused initiatives across our home base of Kentuckiana.”

In 2017, Papa John’s locations across Kentuckiana and Central Kentucky raised and donated a combined $191,000 to local organizations striving to make communities a BETTER place to work and live. Papa John’s FIREWORKS Pizza promotion will help to support one of the iconic annual events in Louisville.

Papa John’s partnership with Thunder in 2018 also includes new Papa Wi-Fi Zones with charging pods throughout the venue to help fans stay connected, so they can easily share all their favorite moments from this year’s event with family and friends.

The theme of this year’s show is “A Disco Thunder,” celebrating disco music. The Festival is also planning for another packed air show in 2018, which could include additional military aircraft participation.

Presenting sponsors of Thunder Over Louisville are Horseshoe Southern Indiana, LG&E, Meijer, UPS and Valero. Ford Motor Company returns as sponsor of Ford’s Thunder on the Ground. Thunder Over Louisville’s 2018 Official Broadcast Partners are WLKY TV and SummitMedia’s 106.9 PLAY. The Galt House is the Official Hotel of the event. Thunder Over Louisville is one of the more than 70 events produced by the Derby Festival in the spring. 2018 marks the 29th annual production.

The Kentucky Derby Festival Louisville Parks & Recreation StepFest returns this Saturday, March 24. The competition starts at 1pm, at Central High School (1130 W Chestnut Street in Louisville). Doors open for the event at Noon. The competition will feature elementary, middle and high school step teams, as well as community step groups.

“We’re very excited to be hosting the StepFest dance competition again in 2018,” said Ben Johnson, Assistant Director of Recreation. “It’s quickly becoming a Derby Festival tradition. We’ve already doubled the number of step teams competing this year.”

Division winners will receive cash prizes. In addition, all division winners will be featured in the 2018 Republic Bank Kentucky Derby Festival Pegasus Parade, where they will show off their moves once more. Admission for spectators to watch StepFest is $5, and is free for children 5 and under.

The competition is free for participants and registration will be open until the event starts. If interested, contact Laneisha Beasley at (502) 574-3206 or Laneisha.beasley@louisvilleky.gov.

The Kentucky Derby Festival StepFest is sponsored by Louisville Parks & Recreation, with Media Sponsor B96.5 FM.

Class Act Federal Credit Union and the Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation will host dozens of talented kids at the Academic Challenge this weekend. The quick-recall tournament is set for this Saturday, March 24, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel Downtown. The tournament is coordinated by Jefferson County Public Schools is scheduled for 8 AM to 3 PM.

“The Academic Challenge event is a great way to showcase the academic achievements of not only our local students, but also our public schools,” said Jeff English, President of the KDF Foundation. “The competition continues to grow each year with more teams participating.”

The Class Act Federal Credit Union Academic Challenge is an opportunity for elementary students from all over the county to test their acumen by answering questions pertaining to math, science, social studies, language arts and humanities. This year’s competition will feature 12 teams from local elementary schools and 150 students.

“Class Act Federal Credit Union is a not for profit education-based financial cooperative, founded by a group of JCPS teachers in 1954,” said Pat Curran, SVP Marketing and Business Development, Class Act Federal Credit Union. “As part of our support for education in Kentucky, we are happy to support the Kentucky Derby Festival’s Academic Challenge.

The top three schools will be awarded trophies, with first through third also receiving monetary awards. It’s free for spectators. For more information contact Doug Wilham at douglas.wilham@jefferson.kyschools.us or (502) 485-3702.

The event is sponsored by Class Act Federal Credit Union and coordinated by Jefferson County Public Schools. It is a Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation event

The Kentucky Derby Museum announces a $6.5 million renovation and expansion project, adding over 11,000 square feet of brand new space and renovation of an existing 5,000 square feet. It will be the largest expansion of the Museum’s footprint since the building was constructed in 1985 and one of the largest renovations since a major refurbishing project following damaging flooding in 2009.

The expansion will provide a greater visitor experience for guests with an emphasis on new exhibit space. The recently acquired D. Wayne Lukas collection will be featured in its own permanent gallery. It also creates space to display key pieces of the Bill Shoemaker collection, which has been housed in the Museum’s archives for many years. The expanded second floor will feature other exhibits, plus additional meeting and rental space.

The Museum will build an entirely new third floor within the expansion footprint to house administrative offices, a large conference room and storage areas.

On the ground level, a new stable will house the Museum’s resident Thoroughbred and miniature horse. The area will include seating for educational programming. It also features more than 7,400 square feet of covered space that can be set for various events, including outdoor weddings, dinners, parties and more. With the addition of the new rental space, the Museum will be able to host events with as many as 1,300 people.

The Museum closed out fiscal year 2017 with a record-setting attendance number, welcoming more than 230,000 visitors through its doors, an increase of 5.6 percent over the previous fiscal year. The energy of that success compelled the Museum’s Board of Directors and leadership team to pursue an expansion project and enhance the overall visitor experience.

“We wanted to build upon the momentum of our recent growth and take the Museum to the next level. With this expansion, we’ll create a new, dynamic way to present our mission to engage, educate and excite everyone about the extraordinary event that is the Kentucky Derby to guests from around the world,” Kentucky Derby Museum President and CEO Patrick Armstrong said.

“The Kentucky Derby Museum is one of the city’s iconic attractions drawing both leisure and convention travelers looking for an authentic Louisville experience,” Karen Williams, President & CEO of the Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau said. “The expansion and renovation will offer our visitors even more one-of-a-kind opportunities to enjoy the thrills and traditions of the legendary Kentucky Derby.”

Construction is set to begin after Kentucky Derby 2018 and is expected to be complete by November, in time for the 2018 Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs Racetrack.

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