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From its humble beginnings in 1956, the Kentucky Derby Festival® has grown into the Bluegrass State’s largest single event and one of the biggest festivals in the United States. Not only has the Derby Festival® blossomed into a two-week-long community celebration, it heralds the onset of spring and the anticipation of one of the world’s greatest sporting events.

People from all over the world travel to Louisville, Kentucky each year to take part in the Derby Festival® and experience the legendary Run for the Roses on the first Saturday in May. With more than 70 events ranging from one of the country’s largest half-marathons to the Pegasus® Parade to an old-fashioned steamboat race, the Kentucky Derby Festival® offers a wide spectrum of activities for both local residents and visitors. Annual attendance of events has exceeded 1.5 million in recent years. The festival is also a mirror of the community – events are attended by people representing all age, educational, geographic and income groups.

Two weeks before the Derby, the festival’s opening ceremonies kick off with Thunder Over Louisville – the largest annual fireworks show in North America. The massive pyrotechnic spectacular and air show on the Ohio River can be seen for miles, attracting 500,000 spectators to the Kentucky and Indiana shorelines. Thunder Over Louisville sets the stage for a whirlwind of eagerly awaited festival events that not only provide a huge economic impact on the community, but help define the city’s character and traditions.

Addison F. McGhee
Ray Wimberg
Basil Caummisar

The Kentucky Derby Festival® got its start in 1956 with a budget of $640. Instrumental in bringing the festival to life were four community and business leaders: Earl Ruby, Addison F. McGhee, Ray Wimberg and Basil Caummisar. The festival featured just one event that first year – the Pegasus® Parade through downtown Louisville, which attracted a crowd of about 50,000. The premise of the early festival was to “create a celebration allowing the entire community to take part in the excitement surrounding the Kentucky Derby.” Churchill Downs racetrack – the site of the world’s most famous horse race – contributed $100 to the festival’s first budget. An unofficial version of the festival was held in 1936, with a parade, wrestling match, concert and fireworks show. It was unable to sustain itself, however, due to lack of interest and the catastrophic flood of 1937.

Ruby, a columnist for The Courier-Journal newspaper, wrote the following in February, 1956: “Another effort is being made to provide a full week of fun for Kentucky Derby visitors … The first try was born a quarter of a century too soon, say fathers of the new plan. Louisville is not the same old town it used to be. Sick and tired of being sick and tired, it has spruced up and is yelling for nourishment. This time the festival will succeed, they promise. The first move will be made this spring. It will be a giant parade of floats, marching bands and prancing horses. A sort of history of the horse race, put to music and flowers. And the story of industry and commerce told by the ingenuity of the float makers. Mayor Andrew Broaddus said yesterday he thinks Derby Week would not be complete without big name dance bands at the two leading hotels, a TV boxing card in the new Fairgrounds, and some outstanding night baseball attraction. The parade, he thinks, probably should be staged on Thursday evening, rather than Friday, because of the pressure of other events on Friday.”

In the early 1960s, more activities were added to the festival’s event schedule, including the Great Steamboat Race in 1963. Jefferson County had earlier purchased the historic paddle wheel steamboat Avalon and renamed her the Belle of Louisville, giving the city its entrant in the Ohio River race with Cincinnati’s Delta Queen. The festival board made an effort in the 1970s to stabilize the private, not-for-profit organization. The festival at that time became part of the Chamber of Commerce and the board was expanded to include local movers and shakers. New events were added, such as the Chow Wagon®, Great Balloon Race®, miniMarathon, charity bike ride and the Run for the Rose. With the added stability of widespread community support and a strong organizational network, the festival has each year become more diverse and successful. Key to this growth was the leadership of the late Dan Mangeot, Kentucky Derby Festival® President and CEO for several years. Mangeot stewardship helped lead to the festival’s international recognition as a special events industry leader.

The Kentucky Derby Festival® raises all of its funds privately. Its annual budget derives from sponsorship revenue, Pegasus® Sponsorships and Pins, Chow Wagon® proceeds and event ticket sales. Festival events annually raise more than $250,000 for charitable organizations. Two-thirds of the festival’s events are free or free with a Pegasus® Sponsorship Pin. The festival has a volunteer board of 75 and a full-time staff of 22. More than 4,000 volunteers assist in producing festival events each year. If those 4,000 volunteers were employees, the festival would be the sixth-largest private employer in the community.

In 1984, the festival generated $17 million for the local economy. That number is now approaching $70 million. And those figures do not include spending on hotels, restaurants or retail sales. The Saturday before the Derby is the single best day for breakfast sales at restaurants in Jefferson County. It has become a tradition to share a meal with family or friends following that morning’s Great Balloon Race® and miniMarathon. The festival generates more than 60 hours of local TV news coverage in nearly 2,000 stories and has been covered nationally by ESPN, The Discovery Channel and The History Channel, among others. More than 900 articles about the festival appear in print annually, including in such publications as The New York Times, Washington Post and People magazine. A radio network reaches listeners in cities such as Indianapolis, St. Louis, Nashville, Cincinnati and Lexington.

The Kentucky Derby Festival® charges out of the gate each April with the “They’re Off! Luncheon.” The traditionally sold-out event, first held in 1957, has over the years featured such keynote speakers as Colonel Harland Sanders, Ambassador John Sherman Cooper, former Kentucky Governor A.B. “Happy” Chandler, Larry King and sports personalities Bruce Jenner, George Steinbrenner, Hank Aaron, Jack Whitaker, George Plimpton and George Blanda. The festivities continue later that night with the Fillies’ Derby Ball. The gala affair features the Grand Coronation of the Festival Queen, who is selected by the traditional spin-of-the-wheel.

First held in 1990 on a much smaller scale, Thunder Over Louisville is the festival’s signature event. It has grown from a show featuring one airplane, three skydivers and 3,550 exploding fireworks shells to an air show with more than 100 planes and a special effects and pyrotechnic extravaganza with a shell count of nearly 40,000. Thunder attracts visitors from all over the eastern United States and is broadcast on live television to 235 countries around the world. The Thunder Command Center controls the largest annual fireworks show in the nation. Planning for the event involves rerouting of air traffic to and from Louisville International Airport, closing the Ohio River to commercial traffic, closing a state bridge, distributing sound by microwave and fiber optics to more than 27 locations and providing food and restrooms for more than 500,000 people. The show’s hardware includes 475 hand-held radios, 200 cellular phones, 50 hard-wire lines and microwave and fiber optics links with two miles of wire on both sides of the river. It is estimated that Thunder Over Louisville has an economic impact of almost $15 million on the community, with riverfront hotels booked for months in advance of the event. Thunder Over Louisville creates such a bond among the community that the day of the event is generally when there are the fewest crimes reported in the city.

When the smoke clears after the close of Thunder Over Louisville, the festival moves into full swing. Among the most popular attractions over the ensuing two weeks are the Derby Festival® Chow Wagons®, Volleyball Classic, KyDzFest, Academic Challenge, Great Balloon Glow, Great Balloon Race®, miniMarathon, Basketball Classic, Bedlam in the Streets®, Run for the Rose¢, Great Steamboat Race and Pegasus® Parade. The excitement of the festival has become so ingrained in the community that many area elementary and pre-schools hold mock races and recreate festival events each spring.

Spectators turn out at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center to watch the festival’s Balloon Glow on the night before the Great Balloon Race®. More than 50 hot air balloons in all shapes and sizes inflate in their launch position on the field, but do not ascend. They are lit against the blackness of the night sky, creating a spectacular effect. Spectators can walk around the field and talk to pilots on the evening before the big race. The next morning, the balloons lift off in an aerial chase of the Hare Balloon, with winds determining which direction they will go. The Hare Balloon stays aloft until it finds a suitable place to land, preferably in a vacant field. It lands and lays out a large fabric “X” as the target, then takes to the air again. The Hounds (the competing balloons) follow the Hare in hot pursuit, trying to throw a small bag of Kentucky Bluegrass seed as close to the “X” as possible, all without landing. After the first drop, the chase continues. The Hare then locates another landing area and descends to place the second target. Once again, the Hounds try to hit the center of the second target without landing. Race officials then measure the distance between the target and the bag of grass seed at both target zones and calculate points to determine a winner. The pilot with the two most accurate tosses is declared the overall winner and receives $3,000, as well as bragging rights for a year.

On the same morning as the Great Balloon Race®, as many as 8,000 runners gather to participate in the 13.1-mile miniMarathon, which was first held in 1974. The maiden race attracted 301 runners, with annual entries growing steadily for years afterward. Considered one of the top five half-marathons in the country, the Derby Festival® miniMarathon owes much of its success to the late Gil Clark of the Metro Parks Department, who helped champion the event in its fledgling years. The race, which is held on the last Saturday in April, attracts runners from across the United States. The course begins on Louisville’s south side and winds through the hills of scenic Iroquois Park before finishing in downtown Louisville. Along the way, participants pass by Churchill Downs and the University of Louisville, not to mention thousands of spectators who turn out to cheer on the runners. The event is known nationally for its caring volunteers and top-notch organization.

On the Wednesday before the Kentucky Derby, the excitement starts to build for another cherished racing tradition - the Great Steamboat Race. The event matches the Belle of Louisville against its river city rival, Cincinnati’s Delta Queen. The sternwheelers, two of only five authentic steamboats in operation, battle for 14 miles up and down the Ohio River, in quest of the revered “gilded antlers” awarded to the winner. The boats stage a musical calliope duel before the race, which starts at the Clark Memorial Bridge and moves east to Six Mile Island. The competition is friendly, but intense, as thousands of spectators line the banks on both sides of the river to cheer the boats on. Families bring box lunches to the riverside, making for an afternoon of socializing and relaxation. In 1967, after winning four straight annual races, owners of the Delta Queen declined to race the Belle again until she was made “more competitive.” Major repairs were then made on the Belle, including installation of new boilers. The changes, along with some resourceful racing strategy by the Belle’s captain, allowed the series to be tied at 16 wins apiece by 1998.

Thousands of people line the streets of downtown Louisville to watch the Pegasus® Parade, the festival’s oldest event. It is held annually on the Thursday before the Derby. Volunteers and employees of sponsoring companies spend months designing and building floats for the parade. They compete for various awards, with judges looking for originality, visual appeal, theme representation, animation, creativity, attention to detail and enthusiasm. Some of the region’s best high school bands strut their stuff for the adoring crowds, while giant inflatables, clowns and costumed characters entertain spectators of all ages. Attending the parade together is a tradition among many local families. The festival received a letter from one woman who said that she has reserved the same seats along the parade route because a family reunion is held there every year. Past parade grand marshals have included such luminaries as Liberace, Ed Asner, Rod Steiger, John Wayne, Muhammad Ali, Bill Monroe, Diane Sawyer, Rosemary Clooney and General Norman Schwarzkopf. An estimated 300,000 parade spectators were on hand in 1991 to pay tribute to Schwarzkopf and his triumphant return from the Gulf War. As the general went down the street, applause followed him like a tidal wave. The emotional event elicited tears from the general public and even veteran police officers stationed along the route.

The night before the Kentucky Derby, a series of Derby Eve parties are held all over Louisville. The festival helps sponsor the star-studded Mint Jubilee, which was established in 1996 by a partnership between former University of Louisville football player and actor Matt Battaglia and local businessmen Tom and Chris Thieneman. The glitzy cocktail gala is host to national celebrities and trendy locals, all partying to raise money for charitable causes. As the evening comes to a close, its time to get some sleep and make final preparations for the Greatest Two Minutes in Sports: the running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. The day after the Derby, the festival’s Lincoln Foundation Barbecue is held at the historic Louisville Water Tower. It provides a perfect place to eat some delicious food and wind down from an exhausting, but exhilarating, two weeks of events put on by the internationally renowned Kentucky Derby Festival®.