Kentucky Derby Festival

Balloon Glow at the Kentucky Expo Center:
This was our first time going to this event, and one which we have longed to attend. Unfortunately, there was little info about the event online, so here is what we learned.
1. Arrive early to get close parking. Gates open at 6, we were there by 6:30, and got great spots close to the entrance.
2. You don’t need to get the Pegasus pins ahead of time. These are the entrance pins for all the events, and they sell them beside the entrances for $ 5. Don’t throw away the cards they are on, because you get a free Derby glass at Liquor Barn with that card!
3. Eat before going, or tailgate/​picnic there. There is carnival food there, but it is not worth $ 4 for a corn dog or $ 6 for a beer. Bring your own food and drink.
4. They don’t set up the balloons until very close to dark, so if you arrive early, plan on chilling for a bit. Bring your own entertainment.
5. The pilots are great about letting you get right next to the baskets as they fire the burners. Sounds dangerous, but it’s not and the kids of all ages (including this 46 year old one) loved the huge flame.
6. The pilots have informational cards they hand out and will explain how you «steer» the balloons. Very kid friendly!
7. The event lasted until about 10:30, so there was a lot of time to walk around and see the balloons.
8. There is no quick way out of the Expo lots, so just be patient and follow the signs or GPS.
All in all, it was fun, very family friendly, not overly crowded, and we will go back, for sure.

This review is for Thunder Over Louisville, which is unfortunately the only thing I got to experience during the Kentucky Derby festival this year.
However, fortunately for me, it was AMAZING! Seriously, its quite the impressive fireworks show! Seriously guys. It was a gigantic and impressive show. Seriously, from what I remember I believe this is the largest fireworks show in North America. During Thunder there is tons of food vendors and stuff going on along the waterfront. Plus. great people watching is to be expected as is at any large event.
But really, it is all about the fireworks. I’m looking forward to hopefully coming back soon for more activities during Derby Festival!

Review is for the 2013 Kentucky Derby Festival marathon & mini marathon**
Just ran the 2013 Kentucky Derby marathon on Saturday, 04/​27/​2013. While I can say that it was an enjoyable event, I did have my challenges on the course, especially on the hills at Iroquois Park and that of Bennett Ave (or Street). The Kentucky Derby Festival marathon is the largest road race event in all of Kentucky, so naturally I gravitated towards that being in a urban setting, since I didn’t like trail races too much. Running the streets of Louisville was something cool, although it felt like anywhere in the Midwest due to it being mostly that way in the region anyway.
While I should have been familiar with this course, I should’ve known better before signing up or train on hills more in hindsight, but it is what it is. Lesson learned for the future. I did like the Churchill Downs stretch and seeing that Ky icon was certainly welcomed for my tourist eyes. The hype was great, but all we did was loop around the inside track of Churchill Downs. I guess they didn’t want us to mess up the horse track a week before the actual Kentucky Derby.
I enjoyed running through the beautiful residential area from mile 8 through 11 before Iroquois Park. Looks like it would be nice to live there sometime. Plenty of faster runners you can see running on the opposite side of the road when you’re going outbound. It’s disheartening at times, but you know you got to do 26.2 regardless. Quitting or cheating/​cutting the course isn’t an option, especially with considerable financial investment getting to Louisville anyway. The last 6 miles seem like a blur, since I just wanted to get it over with already.
The only 2 issues I had was after mile 20, the traffic cones and police presence ceases and basically you’re on your own. I know that there is a 6 hour cut off, but that’s kind of ridiculous! I did get lost a bit, but found my way since I caught up to a back of the pack marathoner who happened to live in Louisville and knew the way forward. I trusted this process and saw the rest of the mile markers before proceeding to the finish line. That was a godsend and purely spot on and a coincidence. I could have pulled a course map up on my iPhone, but it was faster to trust and I am glad I did.
The other issue was that of the finish line. Since I was one of the last finishers, they pulled up the timing mats already as I approached so, I crossed the line without recording an official chip time. I was dismayed, but they were taking stuff down and putting it all away. I’m glad I did get a finisher medallion though. I proceeded to send in an email and with a photo of my gps watch to the race officials to have this travesty corrected. Hoping for the best.
Overall, I think that the Ky Derby marathon is a good marathon. There were some cases that I experienced that they could have done better. The aid stations were adequate, so that was nice. The hills killed me, but what can you say. 26.2 miles is a genuine marathon. Anything beyond that is quite crazy indeed.
Run more! Support local!
B+

Big bang fireworks! Free concerts (with your Pegasus pin)!! Hot air balloons!!! Super bad for you fried food and fair rides!!!
It’s a good time and makes the two weeks of even bigger traffic headaches worth it.
I do wish that when they release their street closures, that they were accurate so I can plan my routes. Many times this year and in previous years, I have paid close attention to the street closures lists for specific events (parade, marathon, thunder) and have planned an «escape route» that, thanks to added and unannounced closures and detours, has become useless.

Okay, so how can you go wrong with the apparently largest fireworks show in the country over the picturesque downtown Louisville backdrop on the river?! Oh wait, there’s more? Yup. The Derby Festival has a TON of events, from balloon glow, steamboat race, parade. Never-​ending 2 weeks of fun!
The parade is a lot of fun and super long filled with floats, dancers, bands, silly little cars and all sorts of good stuff.
But can we talk about these fireworks? The parking is insane, true. But it can’t not be with tens of thousands of people all around the river in anticipation of the flash and explosion! Ah Derby Season. It is an epic month.

Drinking a mint julep at the Kentucky Derby was one of the (many) things on my «Bucket List,» and I am happy to say it is now complete! I did a lot of research before buying tickets, and after comparing various packages, clubhouse vs. bleacher seats, etc. I ended up buying directly from Churchill Downs. We chose a combination package of Grandstand Seating in section 124 for both the Oaks on Friday and the Derby on Saturday, which depending on the start point of the race was right by the starting line for most races.
Since the Grandstand isn’t covered and you don’t have access to the Clubhouse for this area, we also purchased an option for access to the Bacardi Infield Club, which was in an adjacent area and contained enclosed seating, free buffet, separate restrooms (key!) ATM, and several bars. Totally worth it, the grandstand seats were terrific, you felt like you were right next to the horses as opposed to the clubhouse seats which may have had better views, but were so far removed from the track.
Churchill Downs lets you select your actual seats on the site which is great (I selected aisle seats which were key since we went back and forth between races a lot. The Infield Club allowed us the skip the ridiculously long restroom lines and get out of the sun and rain (we had both as May in Kentucky can be pretty variable.) Overall a great choice and a wonderful experience.

This review is for the 2011 Derby Festival Marathon and miniMarathon* put on by Kentucky Derby Festival Inc.
I participated in this marathon with a group of friends. I didn’t realize, and feel it’s worth mentioning, that this is primarily a miniMarathon (aka half marathon); I would guess that the mini to full ratio is 10:1. The marathon is where many of my criticisms fall, as it seems like most energies are focused on the mini and the marathon is more of an afterthought.
I’ll dispense with the positives first:
+ Easy packet pick up and a decent expo.
+ Really nice shirts and medals.
+ Friendly volunteers and lots of police blocking and directing traffic
+ Running through Churchill Downs was awesome, we even saw a few horses working out.
+Plenty of port-​a-​potties on the race route.
Now, on to the negatives:
— They need a better method of sweeping for the last runners on the course. The course was extremely difficult with the hills, especially as it got hotter. My friend went to one medical tent that was unmanned; at another spot in the race, they had already removed signage and she and a few other runners were told to take a wrong turn by a well meaning police officer. This wrong turn forced them to backtrack to complete the official course and thus run 29 miles! 29 MILES, WTF! This same friend also witnessed a guy laid out on the grass in distress and waited with him until help arrived — she’s my hero. I can’t emphasize enough how dangerous this was.
— They ran out of medals. THEY.RAN.OUT.OF.MEDALS. I got a medal and they promised any unfortunate runners one at a later date, but I don’t understand how this is possible because there’s never 100% race attendance. It may sound silly, but medals are a big deal to most marathon runners.
— They gave out mini water bottles. While I liked the convenience of running with one to get me to the next water station, I found it extremely wasteful. Many runners only take a few sips, especially at the early stations. They were also dangerous, someone could easily slip on one, since they don’t flatten like paper cups.
— Plastic cups become don’t flatten well and become slick when wet too; stick with paper.
–They ran out of things like oranges and water for the marathoners. I know because I saw the telltale orange rinds and bottle caps at least twice along the course.
A marathon itself is difficult, but this was a difficult course; I’m not factoring that into this rating, but I think it’s worth mentioning. Also, this isn’t just my opinion, but that of everyone I spoke to, including many who have completed double-​digit marathons. Apparently, Iroquois is indian for mother-f*$@ing hills, coming from the flatlands of Illinois, this was a challenging leg of the race. However, most people’s undoing were the hills encountered again beginning at mile 22. Unless you’re adept at running hills, I wouldn’t consider this race for setting a personal record. There were also noticeably less spectators on the routes exclusively for the full marathon.
I struggled between giving this 2.5 and 3 stars, but since I was fortunate to get a decent time and avoid some of the other pitfalls, I’m rounding up. Overall, this wasn’t a bad experience, but it could have been better; if I ever do a Derby Festival race again, it will be the half.
* I find the term mini-​marathon trivializing; there’s nothing mini about running 13.1 miles.

Attention all you under 40’s out there. Go! Go see the Derby! You’ll smile at the memories forever.
We’ve done three Kentucky Derby’s, all when in our 20’s. We were infield folk, among the tens of thousands drinking and partying while catching glimpses of the races going on all day. The infield is mostly fraternities gathering from across the country and huge family reunions. It was fabulous, as festive as can be. The only requirement is to go with a bunch of friends. Having plenty of alcohol also helps — bring your own. It’s an event you’ll always enjoy remembering. Every year thereafter when you watch the Derby, mint julep in hand, you have great memories and be yelling your lungs out for your horse to win — a horse you’d never heard of 24 hours earlier.