We appreciate all our fans, volunteers, sponsors, partners, participants and the community who make the season so special. It’s hard to believe another Derby Festival has come and gone.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Kentucky Derby Festival released dates for its signature events for the 2026 season. Each year, KDF hosts more than 70 events that lead up to the Kentucky Derby.

Undefeated filly Good Cheer took the Kentucky Oaks in front of a crowd of 100,910. Sovereignty crossed the muddy finish line first in the 151st Kentucky Derby, which brought in 147,406 people to ...

The city-wide festival, which leads up to the annual Kentucky Derby, held on the first Saturday in May, entertains more than 1.5 million people every spring and has a local economic impact of more ...

The Kentucky Derby Festival has released dates for its signature events for 2026. After being canceled in 2025 because of flooding, Thunder Over Louisville will return on Saturday, April 18.

The 71st Kentucky Derby Festival will run for a month leading up to the Kentucky Derby in 2026. Dates for major events like Thunder Over Louisville and the Great Steamboat Race have been released.