KENTUCKY DERBY

[Muddy Rivers]

We are looking for help or advice. We are planning a family trip to the 2018 Kentucky Derby. We know how pricey it is and how difficult it is to get hotels in Louisville for Derby weekend.

We plan on renting a car and don't mind driving in an hour or so if necessary.

Any suggestions on hotel, tickets etc. would be greatly appreciated. We go to the Preakness and Belmont and have that all figured out, but the Derby is new for us.

DIS people are the best!

Thanks!!

 

[klbrow11]

You are right about Derby being expensive. This is my hometown! Churchill Downs is sketchy part of town right next to university of louisville. People set up their lawns as parking spaces which are very close. Parking at Churchill must be done in advance, is expensive, and will be a headache. If you drive I think you can park at papa johns cardinal stadium or fair grounds and take a shuttle over..

I'm assuming you want a reserved seat which coukd run you 400-2000. For around 100 you can get in and be on the lawn but you cant see much and its a little crazy. Dont forget the oaks are the day before and there are a ton of fun events that start weeks before the actual event.

Anything downtown will be 750-1500 a night (and they say disney is expensive LOL), east end of louisville which is the nice side of town prolly anywhere between 500-1000. Getting out of the city is even cheaper. Just googled Hampton inn off of brooks rd on 65 ( is south of louisville about 25 min from Churchill) and it was 385 so much more affordable.

Watch for celebrities and enjoy a mint julip!

 

[klbrow11]

I forgot to mention many hotels do derby packages (3 night stat) that include tickets and transportation to derby. Can range in price and are pricey..like 2300 pp on the cheap but would be very convenient.

 

[kymom99]

Yeah careful about that infield. You could try Carrollton ky. It is north of Louisville about 45 minutes. There are a couple chain hotels there and a few fast food places. You could also head east on 64 to Frankfort, the state capital and look there for a place.

 

[mmmagique]

Lots of people rent their homes (or parts of their homes) out for the Derby. Check out Air BNB. Also, ask any Louisville questions you have here. They are very helpful to everyone! (and welcome to Louisville! Almost everyone here is very friendly and willing to help.)

 

[Muddy Rivers]

Thank you for the great suggestions. Now to start our planning. We know what you mean by the Infield. Many years ago, we used to go to the Infield at Preakness until we decided to get seats. It's crazy out there! Definitely not where we want to be.

Thanks again everyone!!

 

[crazymomof4]

We are looking for help or advice. We are planning a family trip to the 2018 Kentucky Derby. We know how pricey it is and how difficult it is to get hotels in Louisville for Derby weekend.

We plan on renting a car and don't mind driving in an hour or so if necessary.

Any suggestions on hotel, tickets etc. would be greatly appreciated. We go to the Preakness and Belmont and have that all figured out, but the Derby is new for us.

DIS people are the best!

I've never been to the KY Derby but wanted to drop in and say "Hi"
because I am a fellow horse racing fan AND Disney fan.
In fact, if you are at Preakness this year, know that the 2 nutty women who are handling the trophies for the pictures that are taken in the grandstand winner's circle are BOTH Disney Nuts. That's my friend and I. We made a friendship through horses and then discovered we also had love for Disney in common too. We've worked together for Horseman's Relations over Preakness weekend for the past 6 years.
Fun fact: My cat was a rescue found on the streets of Bowling Green KY. We named him "Derby" because he is our "Kentucky Derby"!

Have fun at the KY Derby!!

 

[crazymomof4]

Thank you for the great suggestions. Now to start our planning. We know what you mean by the Infield. Many years ago, we used to go to the Infield at Preakness until we decided to get seats. It's crazy out there! Definitely not where we want to be.

Thanks again everyone!!

OMG yes! about the infield! Part of our job is going out to get the table arrangements for the MJC VIP Tent and so we have to go out there around 11pm Fri night. What a MESS the infield is! I can only imagine what goes on out there during the day!

 

[kydisneyfans]

I would look at Elizabethtown, Frankfort/Lexington, or Carrollton, KY as hotel options an hour out. I live in Georgetown and it's 1:05 from my drive to the Louisville expo center/Churchill area, we have many chain hotels here. Flying vs driving into Louisville would also be an issue-my wife flies to Chicago on occasion for work and pays around $250 RT, Derby week it was over $700. She flew from Cincinnati instead.

I've been in KY for 14 years and the best place to see the Derby is on TV.

 

[kydisneyfans]

Just did a quick check of Hilton properties for the areas I thought:
Carrollton was sold out, Frankfort also is. Etown had rooms around $250, Lexington had limited rooms in the $200-250 area. That is for this year's Derby a month out. Hope that gives you some pricing help. $500+ in Louisville metro, $250 about 45 minutes out, $200 about an hour out.

 

[mmmagique]

A lot of hotels and restaurants start taking reservations a year out.

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

Another louisvillian here. Sign up for ticket alerts from Churchill so you will know when they go on sale. Good seats sell quickly so you won't want to be behind the crowd. Lots of tickets are sold as a two day package for oaks and derby. Oaks (Friday of derby week) used to be locals day but has turned into a bigger day so you may want to make plans to go then too.

If you are flying, then look into airports further away and driving in (Lexington, Cincinnati, even Indianapolis or Nashville) Hotels will book fast and most do the weekend package like previous poster mentioned) check early and find out when they start booking for derby. Also check air bnb or other sites, I think one is Kentucky derby home rentals? A significant number of locals rent out their homes. I am inclined to discourage you from booking a hotel outside of Louisville. Surrounding cities like new Albany or jeffersonville IN, shelbyville, Lagrange Ky, etc. will still be close enough but anything further (Cincinnati/Lexington etc) would be a long distance to and from the track. Traffic isn't too terrible around the city but with the money you will pay for tickets, I would get the most out of my day and not spend it in the car. As another person mentioned, book restaurants too. They fill up well in advance and most offer a limited menu.

 

[hrslvr142]

A question about the Oaks..the day before (don't mean to hijack the thread OP)...crowd wise-manageable or horrible? We are from Indy and would drive down just for that day.

 

[Judyat]

Always thought I'd want to see the Kentucky Derby if given the chance. Well now that my daughter lives less than an hour away and I'm older the thrill of it is gone. The crowd there makes it just one of those things that tells me no way do I want to be a part of it. Just too crazy not to mention expensive. I'll enjoy watching much more on TV and it won't cost me anything. Would say if you really wanted to be a part of it checking out airbnb months ago would have been a great idea especially if you din't need a big house or something really close. They can be very pricey too but many were very reasonable. Just seems like a big gimmick to get people to drop lots of money on a 2 minute race. Fun for some I'm sure.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

This reminds me that I have to post my annual Dreby thread soon.

Less than impressed with the field this year, though.

 

[dhardawa]

Don't forget, there is southern Indiana which is just across the river. Just looking quickly, there are quite a few hotels in the $350 range. You are literally 2-3 miles from downtown and probably 10 from Churchill Downs. If you go north on I-65, you can look in Jeffersonville, New Albany, Sellersburg, and Clarksville or go north more. Scottsburg is 29 miles and Seymour is 50 miles.

The casino hotel still has rooms for $599, but you get to stay at the fancy casino. It's technically in Elizabeth, but still close.

 

[dhardawa]

Always thought I'd want to see the Kentucky Derby if given the chance. Well now that my daughter lives less than an hour away and I'm older the thrill of it is gone. The crowd there makes it just one of those things that tells me no way do I want to be a part of it. Just too crazy not to mention expensive. I'll enjoy watching much more on TV and it won't cost me anything. Would say if you really wanted to be a part of it checking out airbnb months ago would have been a great idea especially if you din't need a big house or something really close. They can be very pricey too but many were very reasonable. Just seems like a big gimmick to get people to drop lots of money on a 2 minute race. Fun for some I'm sure.

I grew up an hour from Churchill Downs. Now I'm maybe 15 miles from it and I have never been to,the Derby. If I want to go to the races, I'd much rather go,when it's cheap and not crowded. That said, I've only been twice in my life. There is zero thrill for me.

 

[GrumpyDudeByChoice]

Brooks, Shepherdsville, Elizabethtown are between 20 and 30 miles from CD but they may be already booked. They are all south of Louisville. Not sure about east end or southern Indiana.

 

[GrumpyDudeByChoice]

I grew up an hour from Churchill Downs. Now I'm maybe 15 miles from it and I have never been to,the Derby. If I want to go to the races, I'd much rather go,when it's cheap and not crowded. That said, I've only been twice in my life. There is zero thrill for me.

I have lived 20 miles from CD my entire life (51 years) and have never been to the Derby or the Oaks.

 

[Muddy Rivers]

Thank you for all of the great advice. Knowing things fill up quickly, we are planning for the 2018 Derby.