Kentucky Derby!  “Bucket list trip!” 

Wednesday May 3 -Monday May 8 , 2023

The 149th Kentucky Derby… the highlight of your trip. You have a VIP Fast Access Pass to Churchill Downs and 1st floor Grandstand Seats near the Starting Line. Tickets come complete with unlimited food and drink (including beer, wine & cocktails). This is one of the world’s greatest and most celebrated sporting events, “The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports” and you are on hand to experience it all. It is a festival and fashion show, it’s a Parade and a Race, it’s Mint Juleps and Riverboats; it’s about Horses and it’s about time you see it in person!

The evening before the race you will enjoy an “Off to the Races” dinner,  a feature event with the Kentucky Derby Museum at a local banquet hall.  A plated meal of renowned Kentucky favorites complimented with Derby Pie for dessert. The Derby Museum’s Master of Ceremonies takes over during dinner with Derby Racing fun. We have three pre-recorded horse races that will be projected on the big screen. Each of you will have a race program and a stack of play money with which to wager at the row of Betting Windows in the back of the room. 

Derby Day … Today’s first event is the Derby Day Riverboat Race. We have chartered both the The Mary M. Miller (replacing the Spirit of Jefferson) and the Belle of Louisville. It doesn’t get any better than this. Once onboard there is complimentary coffee and tea, or start the festivities with a Bloody Mary or Champagne Mimosa from the cash bar. Once underway we have experts providing a few insider tips on the Derby Race. They will talk about the Horses, how they run in different conditions, who has the post and what does that mean, plus information on the trainers Derby History and more. You also enjoy a seminar on how to place a real bet at Churchill Downs. At the end of the “How to Bet” lesson, our two private Sternwheelers will turn downstream and with those big red paddlewheels kicking up a feather trail of whitewater they race each other back to Louisville. We encourage you to place a creative bet or two with your travel partners.  You will have a chance to visit the Derby Hat Boutique where you can buy hats and accessories for both Men & Women. Having just the right Derby  Hat, with the right accessories is a very important part of the Kentucky Derby Experience, you have to dress for the Win, the Place, and The Show.

Your tour also includes Bourbon, Barbecue and Country Music Dinner and the Louisville Slugger Museum You don’t have to be a baseball fan to love Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory.  Lunch today will be in the banquet room of Claudia Sanders Dinner House. This restaurant is a replica of the elegant, old home opened by Colonel Sanders of KFC fame, in 1959. It was from this very building that Kentucky Fried Chicken grew into a world-wide organization. There’s more…you will visit a horse training facility and actually see training in progress. At this time of year it is also possible to see a new foal up close and personal.   A stop will be made enroute and on return at the Creation Museum and Noah's Ark Encounter with a hotel stay each way.   

Package includes *Hotel stay enroute first and last day, * The Kentucky Derby – Reserved Seats - With All-Inclusive Food & Beverage (including beer, wine and cocktails) * Derby Day Riverboat Race – Belle of Louisville vs. The Mary M. Miller * Bourbon, Barbecue and Country Music * Louisville Slugger Museum * Lunch at Claudia Sanders Dinner House * Horse Farm Tour * Derby Hat Boutique * Bourbon & Chocolate Gift Box * “Off to the Races” Dinner Party with Kentucky Derby Museum *  Churchill Downs VIP Fast Access Pass * Three Nights Drury Hotels Kentucky * Five  Hotel Breakfasts * Three Dinners * Three Lunches * All Taxes & Tips on these Services * Churchill Downs VIP Fast Access Pass, admission to Creation Museum, Admission to Noah’s Ark,  driver’s gratuity and trip leader.  

Walking is moderate level for this tour.( premium motorcoach parking, but it is still a long walk. Depending on where the seats are inside Churchill Downs you may walk close to a mile).

Bus departs Jackson 7:30 AM,  Target, Brick 8:00 AM  approximate 6:00 PM return 

$2,960pp  triple occupancy, $3,160 pp double occupancy $3,910 single occupancy rate

$100 deposit to reserve,.2nd payment $500 pp due Jan 6 2023, Final payment due March 5, 2023