Trivia and Fast Facts

The Kentucky Derby Festival: "So Much to Celebrate!"

We took a famous "two minutes" and made it a two-week extravaganza. What the Run for the Roses is to horse racing, Louisville's Kentucky Derby Festival is to community celebrations. The Festival is one of the premiere events of its kind in the world. It brings fun, excitement, international recognition and a spirit that is unmatched anywhere.

What is Derby Festival? The Commonwealth's largest single annual event, and one of Louisville's most popular entertainment attractions, the celebration is produced by Kentucky Derby Festival, Inc., a private, not-for-profit civic organization.

The Festival is not affiliated directly with Churchill Downs or the Kentucky Derby. It is a separate organization. The Festival celebrates the horse race, but more importantly the unique spirit of the community at "Derby" time. The Derby Festival has become a rite of spring.

Attendance: an estimated 1.5 million (13% - 200,000 from outside Jefferson County) (This technically makes KDF the largest annual convention by attendance as the Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau currently cites the National Street Rod Assoc. as the largest, based on 30,000 in attendance.)

Events: 70-plus special events comprise the Festival schedule (some are produced by outside organizations requesting to be included on the schedule)

Board: 75-member volunteer Board of Directors (comprised of key business leaders and civic volunteers)

Staff: 23 full-time paid professionals

Volunteers: 4000 needed to produce the two-week Festival (If these were paid employees, KDF would be the 6th largest employer in the state.)

Founded: 1956 (1st event - Pegasus Parade) 2012 will mark the 57th Festival

Budget: $6 million projected (1st budget was $640)

Economic Impact: $127.9 million on area economy estimated in 2011 (This means for roughly every $1 spent by KDF to produce events, $22 are generated in the local economy.) (The impact of Churchill Downs, hotels & restaurant sales are not considered in this conservative estimate.)  Click here to download the complete study.

Charitable Impact: $300,000 annually - events on the Festival schedule help raise money for organizations such as the Crusade for Children, Kosair Charities, Multiple Sclerosis Society, Louisville Urban League, Metro United Way, etc.

Mission Statement: We provide unique entertainment and community service for the people of the Greater Louisville area that directly contributes to the aesthetic, cultural, educational, charitable and economic development of the area.

We will organize, promote and conduct events using the collective efforts and resources of volunteers, small and large businesses, non-profit organizations and governmental entities to enhance the positive international recognition, economic and cultural development, and community image of the Greater Louisville area.

Did you know?
  • The parade has been held on Broadway at 5 PM for several years. But that wasn't always the case. The 1956 event was held at night and began on Broadway and then went north down Fourth Street.

  • More than 1200 committee meetings are held to plan the 70 events of the Derby Festival, this is more than the legislative meetings for the Commonwealth of KY and the City of Louisville combined.

  • The world record for attendance at a high school all-star game was set by the Derby Festival Basketball Classic in 1989. (19,041)

  • It takes 50 gallons of propane to tether & fly one balloon during the Great Balloon Race weekend. The propane used since the first Great Balloon Race would be enough to fire 12,500 gas grills for an entire summer.

  • The miniMarathon continues to be ranked as one of the nation's top 100 road races*, one of the three largest half-marathons and Kentucky's largest road race, Derby Festival constantly strives to improve the event. (*source: USA Track & Field.)

  • Before four men founded the Festival as we now know it, in 1956, there was an early attempt at a "Derby Festival" in 1935.

  • The Courier-Journal ($125) was the largest cash sponsor of the Derby Festivals' founding event, the Pegasus Parade in 1956.

  • There have been 5 Executive Directors/Presidents of the Festival. Addison F. McGhee 1958 -1971; Jack Guthrie 1971- 1977, Cabby Ratterman 1977 - 1979; Dan Mangeot 1979 - 1997; Mike Berry 1997 to present.

  • The second oldest event of the Kentucky Derby Festival is "They're Off" Luncheon (1957).

  • The Great Steamboat Race, begun in 1963, was originally held on Tuesday of Derby Week and was called The Steamboat Derby.

  • Due to political unrest in the city, the Pegasus Parade cancelled in 1967.

  • The 1959 Kentucky Derby Festival Queen later became Kentucky's first female Governor Martha Layne Hall (Collins).

  • When the 12th Pegasus Parade stepped off in 1968, it traveled eastbound along Broadway between 18th and Clay Streets.

  • No longer an event, the Pegasus Pedalathon in 1969 featured students from the University of Louisville racing on bicycles and tricycles.

  • Wendell Wright, 1988 Festival Chairman, purchased the very first Pegasus Pin in 1973.

  • The first Balloon Race was launched from the top of Iroquois Park in south Louisville.

  • The first official glass of the Festival was produced in 1968. There was another glass in 1984, and then produced continuously since 1987.

  • The first Thorobred Of The Year was Bob Greenwell, 1983 (Now deceased, Bob worked for Philip Morris USA and handled the operations and logistics of the PM Festival of Stars.)

  • The original name of the miniMarathon was Mayor's miniMarathon. Mayor Harvey Sloane actually participated in the race as part of the inaugural event.

  • The last public appearance of Rock Hudson was the 1984 Derby Festival Pegasus Parade.

  • The first Thunder Over Louisville was held at Cardinal Stadium in 1990.

  • Eleven women have served as Chairs of the Derby Festival. Katie Peden was the first one in 1980. Carolle Jones Clay is the first African-American female to serve in 2004.