Highlights

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• Customizable Comps
• Net Rates
• Luxury or First Class Hotels & Meals
• Motorcoach Transportation & Professional Tour Managers are available

Whatever you want, YankeeTrailsGroups by US Tours will be happy to structure tour prices to match your needs. Just let us know!

Spring Racing Season in 2023 is

April 27- June 25. Thurs Evenings and Fri, Sat and Sun Matinees

Fall Racing Season in 2023 is:

Sept 14- Oct 1.  Thurs Evenings and Fri, Sat and Sun Matinees 

Oct 29-Nov 26  Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat and Sun Matinees

(Schedules subject to change)

Itinerary

Day 1 – Louisville, KY – Drury Hotels Derby Training Rooms – Frazier History Museum & Tasting – Kentucky Bourbon Trail 

Arriving in Louisville, KY today, check into the Drury Inn North for the next three nights. This evening enjoy Drury’s “Kick Back” Happy Hour with a rotating menu of free food and drink. Then you step out to Frazier Museum for a Bourbon Reception at 7:00pm.

The Frazier History Museum is the Official Starting Point of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and home of the Bourbon Trail Welcome Center. You will see The Spirit of Kentucky Bourbon which gives a fantastic overview of the history of Bourbon and why Bourbon is so vital to Kentucky. It is also a great way to start your Bourbon Trail Experience.

You will also see a film and have a Bourbon Tasting Experience with some “Old Favorites” such as Old Forester Signature, Old Grand-Dad and Old Bardstown to start your trip off with a bang. The Frazier is also a Museum. Artifacts on exhibit once belonged to famous politicians and celebrities, noted frontiersmen and soldiers. No other museum in the world houses the ceremonial sword of founding father Josiah Bartlett, the family bible of legendary of pioneer Daniel Boone and so many more unique and historic artifact spanning 1,000 years of history.

Day 2 – “Hatitude” & “Horse Talk” – Kentucky Derby Museum – Churchill Downs Racing & Dinner 

You start today at the Kentucky Derby Museum located at Churchill Downs, here they celebrate the tradition, history, hospitality and pride of the world-renown event that is the Kentucky Derby. Here is your education takes on a serious “Hatitude,” with a class on how to make your own Derby Hat. You will discover that The Kentucky Derby is as much about watching people as it horses, every woman accessorizes with stylish hats. You will also enjoy a seminar titled “Horse Talk,” where you will learn the secrets of picking a winner, including tricks like reading a horse’s eyes, ears and tails.

Following lunch on own return to the Kentucky Derby Museum for the remainder of the day – your group will enjoy a tour of the museum and guided walking tour of Churchill downs, featuring view of the Grandstand, Finish Line and Winner’s Circle.  Here is your education takes on a serious “Hatitude,” with a class on how to make your own Derby Hat. You will discover that The Kentucky Derby is as much about watching people as it horses, every woman accessorizes with stylish hats. Then it’s all about “Horse Talk”, you will learn the secrets of picking a winner, including tricks like reading a horse’s eyes, ears and tails.

Once school’s out at the Museum, it’s off to the races in Churchill Down’s Millionaires Row. During the Derby these seats are reserved for the world’s most renowned racing enthusiasts. Dinner is included in the Dining Room and comes with scenic vantage points from a tiered balcony overlooking the finish line. You can also watch the races from television monitors overhead.  Plus, while you are here, you will receive Ten (10) Free $2.00 Bets to get you started. At Derby Camp you don’t have to lose your money. (B,D)

Day 3 – Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory Tour – Kentucky Bourbon Trail Guide Book & Passport – Dinner Cruise

You don’t have to be a baseball fan to love Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory. It’s iconic, it’s linked to legends and it is one of Louisville’s best known tourist attractions. We’ve upped our game with an exciting new factory tour experience! Our world-famous tour now begins with a thrilling movie that transports you to the forests and mills where every Louisville Slugger bat begins. After that, walk through the heart of our factory production line and check out never-before-seen steps in the bat-making process including the creation of our fan favorite mini-bats. Receive a mini-bat at end of tour.

After the Slugger Museum you receive you receive your Kentucky Bourbon Trail Guide Book and Passport for a day of fun on the Bourbon Trail.  First Stop is Barrels & Billets Bourbon Blending Experience.  Barrels & Billets, Louisville’s only create-and-bottle-your-own bourbon experience, invites you to step into a world where bourbon meets craftsmanship. Located within the iconic Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, this unique experience offers bourbon enthusiasts and the bourbon curious an unparalleled blend of excitement and flavor.

Next is Old Forester. This guided tour explains the history of this hometown bourbon. You’ll learn of the distilling and bottling process, and much more. At the end of the tour, guests of legal drinking age (21+) can taste Old Foresters award-winning craft bourbon for themselves.

You then have free time for lunch on own at 4th Street Live. A 350,000 square foot entertainment and retail complex is located on Fourth Street between Liberty and Muhammad Ali Blvd. Afterwards continue on with your Bourbon Tour with a visit to the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience. It is an artisanal distillery located in downtown Louisville on Whiskey Row and celebrates the legacy of Evan Williams, Kentucky’s first distiller.

Next you take a step back in time for a Prohibition-themed distillery tour! See the “tools” bootleggers used to make moonshine in the early ’20s when alcohol was prohibited. Walk among a collection of historical memorabilia of the era. You’ll hear true accounts of the crazy and often dangerous things that were done to illegally produce, transport, and sell liquor. Experience how they handcraft liquor today and the similarities between now and then. After the tour, wander over to our tasting bar and enjoy our spirits.

You’ll likely want to try PCS Distilling Company’s newest creation — “NULU™” a Blue Agave Reposado imported from Mexico, then brought home to Louisville to aged in Bourbon Barrels.

This evening enjoy a dinner cruise and sightseeing on either the Mary M. Miller or the Belle of Louisville. With that big red paddlewheel kicking up a whitewater feather trail, you cruise on the mighty Ohio River while enjoying a delicious meal. (B,D)

Day 4 – Depart for Home 

Today you depart for home with fond memories of your trip. (B)

Tour Map