Kentucky Adventures

A new year, a new website rebrand

Posted on April 24, 2026 by rmiracle

2025 and so far, 2026, have been challenging times to try to keep this site updated for you. We are going to make a concerted effort to correct that. We are unable to attend many Derby Festival events this year, even though they are now in our backyard. After some discussion, having a website that only produces content for a...Read More

And that’s a wrap on Derby 2025

Posted on May 6, 2025 by rmiracle

Roses are not just for Valentine's Day. Kentucky Bourbon is of course a frequent participant! The Kentucky Derby is the most prestigious horse race. It has run for 151 consecutive years. Then add the Kentucky Derby Festival on top and you've got a solid two weeks of fun festivities. But sometimes Mother Nature has other ideas. First, Thunder Over Louisville...Read More

Yes, you can race beds, and they do!

Posted on April 29, 2025 by rmiracle

If it can move, it can race. So why not race beds? The race originated as a competition among hotels, but over the years, it's migrated to many different organizations from parks and rec departments to engineering schools, and local businesses. See all the photos! There are two phases to the event: the decorative/festive competition and the actual timed races....Read More

Dawn at the Downs: Your chance to get up and close…

Posted on April 28, 2025April 28, 2025 by rmiracle

With the contenders for the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby. Each year, Churchill Downs opens the track early in the morning so fans can watch the horses work out. During Derby week, the horses that will run in the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks workout in the morning from 6:45am to 10am. Previously, there two sessions, an early morning one...Read More

It was a beautiful day for a parade!

Posted on April 27, 2025May 9, 2025 by rmiracle

The Pegasus balloon rides down Broadway to get the parade started! The Kentucky Derby Festival® started with the first Pegasus Parade® in 1956 on a shoestring budget of just $640 (about $7,500 in today's dollars). It was the very first festival event. Today, this is one of the largest parades in the country. Sponsored by the Zoeller Pump Company, the...Read More

It’s the Ken-Ducky Derby! (and an auto show!)

Posted on April 26, 2025April 27, 2025 by rmiracle

Rubber ducks "race" down the Ohio River. See all the photos Twenty-two years ago, an idea was hatched. Since Kentuckians race everything during the Kentucky Derby Festival, why not race rubber ducks? And a new event because a favorite of the Festival. Supporting Harbor House, a community organization that supports empowering individuals with disabilities and their families with the goal...Read More

Rain, rain! Go away! – 3 of 4 balloon events cancelled

Posted on April 26, 2025 by rmiracle

The weather in Kentucky during April and May is quite variable. Sometimes it's sunny and warm; sometimes it snows. But you can thank Murphy's Law for picking the worst times to bring unfavorable weather to the Ohio Valley. As in past years, this year's Kentucky Derby Festival had scheduled four hot air balloon events: two glows and two races, starting...Read More

Burnham Square claimes the 2025 Blue Grass Stakes

Posted on April 8, 2025 by rmiracle

Spring weather in Central Kentucky can be unpredictable. Severe flooding across much of the Midwest after days of severe storms postponed the 101st Running of the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes from Saturday, April 5th, until Tuesday, April 8th, in frigid temperatures. But the clear Kentucky skies made for an enjoyable day at Keenland in Lexington. Seven horses paraded in front...Read More

Flooding cancels 2025 Thunder over Louisville

Posted on April 5, 2025April 8, 2025 by rmiracle

We are sad to report that the Kentucky Derby Festival, along with their City, State, and Federal partners, have decided to cancel the 2025 Thunder over Louisville event due to the expected flooding after the historic rainfall that the area has been (and still is) receiving. It's just not safe or even possible to put on this event with the...Read More

It’s 2025! We are back!

Posted on March 10, 2025March 10, 2025 by rmiracle

And hopefully for good. 2024 was a strange year for us. Day jobs and PTO were not kind, so we made the choice to stay home and do things nearby. That meant no Kentucky Derby or Kentucky Derby Festival for us. It was another year of not being on the Belle of Louisville for the Great Steamboat Race. But 2024...Read More