Wednesday October 15, 2025
Local Connection
Weather
Traffic
@LouisvilleDispatch
@LouisvilleDisp
Subscribe
Derby Festival Fans can help pick the next ‘Derby Burger’ Champion. Dozens of original recipes were submitted for the competition sponsored by the Kentucky Beef Council. Those recipes featuring 100% beef have been narrowed to the top 8 recipes. Voting is open online to help choose the top 4 burgers that will move on to the finals of the 2017 Derby Burger Challenge. Today through March 16, fans can visit KDF.org/Beef to vote for the burger they want to see make it the cook-off portion of the event. This is the sixth year for the Derby Burger competition.
“Everyone loves a juicy burger! Whether you’re gathered around the grill with family or looking for a lunch option to get you through the day, burger recipes offer something for everyone’s taste buds. The Derby Burger Challenge has been a great way for the Bluegrass to express their love for a great burger through all the inventive and exciting burger recipes. We are looking forward to seeing what this year has in store!” Steve Dunning, Kentucky Beef Council.
The burger recipes are judged based on Taste, Appearance, Creativity and Ease of Preparation. The winning burger will be featured at Kroger’s Fest-a-Ville during Derby Festival, sampled at BeerFest presented by American Founders Bank and on the menu at Napa River Grill in May and June. Official rules of the competition can be found online at www.kdf.org/beef.
The winning chef also receives VIP tickets to Thunder Over Louisville, tickets to Waterfront Jam, as well as a $100 gift certificate to Kroger and a grilling package from Kentucky Beef Council.
Beginning Monday, March 13 through Friday, April 14, all purchasers of fresh ground beef at any of the Kentuckiana Kroger stores will receive a receipt message 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.
Since 1956, the Derby Festival has worked to bring the community together in celebration. The Festival is an independent community organization supported by 4,000 volunteers, 400 businesses and civic groups, Pegasus Pin sponsorships and event participation. This involvement has made the Festival the largest single attended event in Kentucky and one of the leading community celebrations in the world.
“Say Yes To The Dress: Atlanta” Star Will Help Emcee
Tickets are available now for the first ball of the Derby season – the annual Fillies Derby Ball hosted at the Louisville Marriot Downtown. This ball is one of the Kentucky Derby Festival’s oldest and most elegant events.
Themed “The Royal Ball,” the event promises to treat every guest like royalty. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. with cocktails, call to the post at 7:15, the Queen’s coronation at 7:30, all followed by dinner at 8:00. For dancing, live musical entertainment will be provided by The Sensations.
The highlight of the Derby Ball – which is planned and produced by The Fillies, Inc. – is the coronation of the Kentucky Derby Festival Queen, selected by the traditional spin-of-the-wheel.
The regal evening will be hosted by Vicki Dortch from WLKY TV with special guest Monte Durham, from TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta. Durham originally joined the Derby Festival in January to help select the five ladies that make up the Royal Court. At the Ball he will return to the festivities to help crown the Queen, along with Kathy Bingham, 2017 Fillies President.
Contributing Sponsors of the event include the Brown-Forman Corporation and Total Wine & More. Media Sponsors are TOPS Louisville and 102.3 The Max.
The Fillies Derby Ball is also the largest fundraiser for the Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation, KDF’s charitable arm. A portion of proceeds from the ball benefits the Foundation.
Tickets are $175 each. VIP tables are also available for $2,500. Tickets include dinner and dancing. For tickets call (502) 572-3856.
Source: Maryland GovPics
37 years after Affirmed won the Triple Crown in 1978, American Pharoah pulled off an amazing victory to become the 12th horse to claim the title.
This was trainer, Bob Baffert’s fourth attempt at a Triple Crown winner. It was also jockey, Victor Espinoza’s third opportunity to win the Triple Crown. With this win, Espinoza, age 43, is the oldest jockey to win the Triple Crown.
American Pharoah’s official time was 2 minutes 26.65 seconds and he won by 5 1/2 lengths. The world record and track record for the Belmont Stakes is held by Secretariat, who also won the Triple Crown in 1973. He completed the race in 2 minutes 24.00 seconds and won by 31 lengths.
Thi
s morning at approximately 7:30 AM, the annual Kentucky Derby Marathon, miniMarathon, and the wheelchair division started, despite the weather.
Officials announced the over-all winners for all three division on their Twitter account.
The winners receive a cash prize for their hard-work. The top three finishers for different age groups receive a mint-julep cup by Louisville Stoneware.
Over-all Wheelchair Division
Male: Jose Pulido (no time given, but the original Twitter announcement posted approxiamtely 50 minutes after the start of the race)
Female: Tina Vogel (1:21:54)
Over-all miniMarathon Division
Male: Elisha Barno (1:01:44)
Female: Askale Merachi (1:12:08)
Over-allMarathon Division
Male: Bryan Morseman (2:22:36)
Female: Alemnesh Habtemikael (2:49:59)
The annual running of the Oaks and Kentucky Derby will take place this Friday and Saturday, May 2nd and 3rd. Throughout the course of the races, hundreds of thousands will enjoy the races and festivities from under the twin spires of Churchill Downs. Many others, however, will choose to get in on the action from the comfort of their own home or at a Derby party. Celebrating the event at home is a great way to enjoy the many races throughout the day: it is less stressful, less crowded, and cheaper.
Once you have decided to throw a Derby party at your home, the next step is to plan a fun party. There are a number of directions in which you can take your Derby party. Check out some of the theme ideas below from a variety of sources, including the Official Kentucky Derby website and Better Homes and Garden:
- For a more Family Friendly Experience, have a Under-Horse Party
- Decorations: decorate in the colors of the under-dog horse
- Attire: casual – for kids (or adults), buy cotton T-shirts and fabric paint so the kids can make their own jerseys
- Food: potluck, grilled food, horse-shaped cookies for kids to decorate
- Drinks: mint juleps (for virgin mint juleps – substitute ginger ale for bourbon)
- Games: Corn hole, horse shoes, derby pool (put the horse numbers into a hat and have your guests draw a number, a prize or an extra drink to the winner), water balloons, pin-the-tail-on-the-race horse
- For a more informal party, have an Infield Party
- Decorations: Outdoors, use plastic horse figurines or plastic trophy cups for place markers, use trophy cups as cocktail glasses, pretty much anything goes here
- Attire: casual
- Food: grilled food, potluck, burgoo
- Drinks: beer and mint juleps
- Games: corn hole, horseshoes, three-legged races, provide materials (e.g. duct tape and plastic shopping bags) for a create your own hat contest, beer pong, slip-n-slides, derby pool
LMPD officials have released their safety plans for the Oaks and Derby Day events. LMPD representatives say that they will be working in conjunction with local and federal groups to ensure that Louisvillians and visitors remain safe during the city’s Kentucky Derby Festival events, at Oaks and Derby at Churchill Downs and throughout Louisville as hundreds of thousands gallop into town to watch the race live or at Derby parties.
In addition to increased police patrols, LMPD will be coordinating sobriety checkpoints and modified traffic patterns to keep the roadways safe and flowing efficiently. For a list of street closures and no-parking areas during the Pegasus Parade, Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby, visit the LMPD Kentucky Derby Festival Information page. To further keep roadways safe during all of the racing celebrations, Miller Lite is sponsoring free rides on TARC buses from 6 PM Friday night until 1AM for those needing a designated driver.
Officials will also be making use of cameras along the parade route to monitor the crowd. Additionally, LMPD is advising those in attendance “if you see something, say something.”
If you plan on heading to Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Oaks or Kentucky Derby, you should be aware of what you can and cannot take into the venue. Lists of permitted and prohibited items are available on the Kentucky Derby website. A list of permitted and prohibited items is also available on Official Churchill Downs Partner Derby Experiences website, although visitors should be aware that there are some conflicts between the two lists – specifically, on the rules regarding coolers. Louisville Dispatch staff reached out to the Kentucky Derby communications office and confirmed that the Derby Experiences website has an outdated list that that visitors should adhere to the list below, directly from the Kentucky Derby site: Continue reading
Courtesy: Kentuckytourism.com
Spring has sprung in Kentuckiana and that means one thing: Louisville is transforming into Derby City.
The 140th running of the Kentucky Derby is Saturday, May 3, 2014 under the twin spires of Churchill Downs. Are you ready for “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports?”
Leading up to The Run for the Roses is the Kentucky Derby Festival that lasts from April 12 through Oaks Day on Friday, May 2. As always, Thunder Over Louisville kicks off three weeks of exciting events that are sure to be fun for the whole family. See the full schedlue below.
So, Louisville, use the comments below to tell us about your Derby plans. Are you having a Derby party? Are you watching the races from Millionaires Row, the infield, from home or not at all? Will you be catching the fireworks and aerobatic excitement of Thunder? Will you be among the throng lining the streets for the Pegasus Parade?
Kentucky Derby Festival Schedule
04/12/2014
- Give A Day: Mayor’s Week of Service
- Thunder Over Louisville
- Ford’s Thunder on the Ground
04/14/2014
- King Southern Bank Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation Pro-Am Golf Tournament
04/17/2014
- Horseshoe Foundation Night of the Future Stars
- Race Expo And Packet Pickup
- Stock Yard’s Bank & Trust $1 Million Dollar Hole-in-One Golf Contest
04/18/2014
- Basketball Classic presented by Papa John’s
04/19/2014
- NPC Derby Championships
- Volleyball Classic
- Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon & miniMarathon presented by Walmart and HumanaVitality
04/24/2014
- U.S. Bank Great BalloonFest: Great Balloon Glimmer
- U.S. Bank Great BalloonFest: Crew Challenge
- Chow Wagon
- Kroger’s Fest-a-Ville on the Waterfront
- U.S. Bank Great BalloonFest
04/25/2014
- U.S. Bank Great BalloonFest: Great Balloon Glow
- Zumba Fitness Party
- U.S. Bank Great BalloonFest: Great Balloon Rush-Hour Race
04/26/2014
- U.S. Bank Great BalloonFest: Great Balloon Race
- ACO Derbyhole Classic
- Da’Ville Classic Drum Line Showcase
04/27/2014
- miniFun Run presented by HumanaVitality and Subway Restaurants
- Louisville Youth Orchestra Concert
- GospelFest presented by Passport Health Plan
- Celebration Sunday with 88.5 WJIE featuring Audio Adrenaline
- Mayor’s Derby Brunch on the River
- Tour de Lou
- Children’s Tea with the Kentucky Derby Festival Princesses
04/28/2014
- Great Bed Races
- Don Fightmaster Golf Outing
- Discovery Day
- HappyTail Hour
- Knights of Columbus Charity Dinner
04/29/2014
- Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Health Fair
- BetAmerica Texas Hold’Em Tournament
- Republic Bank Pegasus Parade Preview Party
- Kentucky Proud WineFest
- Tuesday Concert feat. Ohio Players and Lakeside
- Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation Student Art Contest presented by the Kentucky School of Art
04/30/2014
- Great Steamboat Race
- Battle of the Bounce
- Wednesday Concert feat. Sam Roberts Band with LEAGUES
05/01/2014
- Waterfront Jam presented by Laura’s Lean Beef
- Celebrity Day at the Downs
- Republic Bank Pegasus Parade
05/02/2014
- Waterfront Jam presented by Laura’s Lean Beef: Friday Concert feat. Scotty McCreery with special guest Cassadee Pope, and Steve Holy