BalloonFest History

The Kentucky Derby Festival Great Balloon Race was first held in 1973, having been conceived as a family-oriented event that would add color and pageantry to the Festival schedule. The late Louisville restaurateur Ed Hasenour was credited with bringing the idea for a hot air balloon race to the attention of Jack Guthrie, who was then executive vice president of the Festival.

Ballooning did not have much of a local history at that time, and all the participating pilots came from out of town for the first Great Balloon Race in 1973, including Ed Yost, a pioneer and developer of hot air ballooning, and well-known industrialist Malcolm Forbes. For the initial race, eight balloons were launched from Iroquois Park. The race was not without incident, including a cattle stampede and one balloon ending up in power lines (fortunately, there were no injuries).

The second year, 11 balloons took part, and entries increased to 19 by 1975.

The competition format was "hare and hounds," as it remains today. Prior to the race being cancelled by poor weather in 1992 and 1993, the previous year's winner was selected as the Hare Balloon. After the consecutive cancellations, it was decided that the event's main sponsor would be appointed the Hare Balloon for ensuing races.

The balloons lift off in an aerial chase of the Hare Balloon (the overall sponsor), 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.

The race was moved to another location in Iroquois Park after the first year. It relocated to its present launching point at the Kentucky State Fairgrounds in 1975. The 1976 event saw its first husband-and-wife piloting team, George and Mary Berth Troutman. In 1977 came the first special shape entry, the Orville Redenbacher Popcorn balloon. In 1979, some special pilots were on hand to participate in the race. Ben Abuzz, Maxine Anderson and Larry Newman, the crew of the Double Eagle II, flew a replica of the balloon that only months earlier became the first to make a successful transatlantic flight. The pilots also were the keynote speakers for that year's They're Off! Luncheon.

U.S. Bank began sponsoring this favorite festival tradition in 2003. The event has become one of the Festival's most anticipated events, with crowds in excess of 30,000 annually. The popularity of the race is reflected by the large number of balloon pilots and owners now living in the Louisville area.

The night before the race is the U.S. Bank Derby Festival Balloon Glow, which now draws crowds exceeding the race itself. 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 Glow was added to the Festival's event schedule in 1993 as an additional exposure opportunity for balloon entrants and sponsors and another chance for the public to appreciate the majesty of this time-honored sport. Crowds of more than 60,000 have gathered at this nocturnal event in good weather years.