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Kentucky: Home of the Derby & Bourbon Trail

Ren Gudino

From the Kentucky Derby to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, you’ll find something along the interstate to pique your interest. With only nine interstates, this state is easy to travel through and many do—seeing as I-65 is one of the most heavily traveled corridors in the country! Whether this is because of the hundreds of thousands flocking to witness the shortest sports event in history or the millions touring the over forty distilleries throughout the state, we say, why pick one?


Map of Kentucky, text reads "Home of the Kentucky Derby & Bourbon Trail," with a jockey on a horse and bourbon barrels in the background.

The Kentucky Derby is the one of the most-watched and most-attended horse races in the US, as well as longest running (get it?). Just last year, they marked the 150th running of the race: a huge accomplishment for something started in 1875, and has been run every single year, despite two postponements (one during World War II and the other due to the COVID-19 Pandemic). In 1872, Col. Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr. (grandson of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition) traveled to England where he witnessed The Derby in Epsom; his travels were followed by the Grand Prix de Paris in France. When he returned to Kentucky, he started the Louisville Jockey Club to raise funds to build quality racing facilities just outside of the city. The track was named Churchill Downs, named for John and Henry Churchill, who provided the land. In May of 1875, the first race of 15 horses ran the initial Derby before a crowd of 10,000 people.


The Kentucky Derby earns its fame for more than longevity. It’s an American Grade I Stakes race, meaning that it meets the criteria of the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. The grading (I, II, or III) is based on the quality of the field in previous years, as long the race meets the minimum “purse” criteria for the grade. The race is specifically run by three-year-old thoroughbreds for 1 1/4 miles on the first Saturday in May and makes up the first leg of the Triple Crown, following the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The event is sometimes called different things, from “The Run for the Roses,” named after the blanket of roses that covers the winning horse to “The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports,” in reference to the length of the actual race. If you plan on attending, go here first to familiarize yourself with the event. Louisville offers packages that cover “the Derby Experience” and gives options for your itinerary for the time prior to the run. The Kentucky Derby site even includes a Style Lookbook as a reference for what to wear, in order to maintain “heirloom elegance.”


If all of that seems like a lot to get into, (and don’t worry, folks attend the Derby without needing to know all the hoopla) maybe a little drive along any 7 of Kentucky’s interstates to a local distillery is more your speed. Not only is checking out the Kentucky Bourbon Trail a great way to spend your time during the Derby Festival, this whiskey walkabout is something anyone can do at any time! However, there are times of the year when this adventure sees more visitors. According to their official site, the Bourbon Trail is best visited during the spring, when the state can also highlight their beautiful landscape and nice weather. With a new “Build Your Own Trail” feature, visitors can choose to travel the trail via region or seek out only tours and tastings, find specialty tours, or pick strictly self-guided tours for a more private experience. The Frazier Museum also offers a number of classes and events, such as crafting your own cocktails, the history of bourbon making, or focusing on flights at different distilleries.


Map titled "Your Kentucky Bourbon Roadmap" showing distillery locations and time zones in Kentucky. Includes icons and text details.
Click to be taken to a printable hi-res PDF of the map and all locations.

Started in 1999, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail has grown from seven to forty-six distilleries. All of these are relatively close to an interstate (see the above image), making the tour easily accessible for tourists. Not only has Kentucky done a great deal of research to provide a fun and accessible tourism draw, this travel site breaks down all of the costs should you decide to embark on a month long adventure. This site breaks down the tour into different routes along with details of the distilleries, as well as offers its own “need to know,” which is a great accompaniment to the official site’s version. These resources, combined with the careful rebrand to Build-Your-Own-Bourbon-Trail have increased the number of visitors by double. In 2023, Kentucky broke their own attendance record reaching 2 million and are hoping to continue expanding in the future. Thanks to their thorough planning, Kentucky now has over 11.4 million barrels of aging bourbon across the state, with distillers filling over 2 million last year, topping their own previous numbers.


Whether you find yourself heading toward Louisville for the “Fastest Two Minutes in Sports,” are making your way across the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, or are just traveling through along some of the busiest corridors in the United States, remember that Interstate Signways made the signs that guided and marked the way!

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