Talk Derby to Me Baby

It's that time! The Kentucky Derby Festival is in full swing!!

The most famous 2 minutes in sports kicks off on Saturday, May 2 and Kentucky has started to celebrate! We have quite a few events leading to the big day.

1. Thunder Over Louisville- This is the largest annual fireworks display in North America! The fireworks are shot off on the bridge of the Ohio river, which runs between Kentucky and Indiana.

2. Taste of Derby Festival-Sample dishes from more than 65 of Louisville's finest restaurants and beverage companies. The event also features a bourbon tasting, Bloody Mary contest, wine tasting and silent auction. All ticket proceeds benefit the Dare to Care Food Bank.3. U.S. Bank Derby Festival Great Balloon Glimmer-The Glimmer kicks off the Kroger Fest-a-Ville on the Waterfront and the opening of the Chow Wagon with a night filled with dozens of balloon lightings.

3. Derby Festival Great Steamboat Race-Witness the race for the Golden Antlers as the Belle of Louisville and the Belle of Cincinnati go head to head in a 14-mile boat race that begins at the Clark Memorial Bridge.

4. The Kentucky Oaks- This big day of racing at the Downs, second only to the Kentucky Derby, will feature 12 races this year, capped by the Kentucky Oaks, a stakes race for 3-year-old thoroughbred fillies. This is the event that most Louisvillian's attend.


5. The Kentucky Derby- The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three year-old thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, KY, on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter miles (2 km) at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds and fillies (females) 121 pounds. The race is known as "The Run for the Roses" for the blanket of roses draped over the winner. It is the first leg of the U.S. Triple Crown and is followed by the Preakness Stakes and then the Belmont Stakes. (Thanks wikipedia.)