Kentucky Derby Museum — Attraction in Louisville

I had wanted to visit Churchill Downs and the museum ever since I read The Black Stallion book series as a kid. It did not disappoint. We had a great time. Took the 8:30 Barns and Backside Tour where you ride in the little colorful van to the barn area. I was worried we might miss the horse workouts since we didn’t take the earlier tour, but it worked out perfectly. The horses came onto the track soon after we reached the barns. We were able to get out of the van and watch them from a track side deck and take photos. Also saw some of the horses getting their morning baths. Our tour guide Jessica did a good job and would position the van so we could get photos of the horses in their stalls or getting their bath. She was happy to answer questions and tour guide Barry rode along as well and answered any questions that Jessica referred to him.

The museum was just okay to me. It really depends on what interests you and I was more interested in the horses than celebrities or hats. I particularly enjoyed the D. Wayne Lukas exhibit because you could select videos to watch him talk about horses he had trained and then watch them in the race. The Secretariat exhibit was also good.

Only real complaint would be that there were at least two different elementary school bus loads of kids there and they were just turned loose to run in the museum. We couldn’t see or do some of the things we wanted to because we either couldn’t get near it or couldn’t concentrate for all of the yelling. Perhaps the museum should not sell tickets to the general public when there are school tours. We didn’t feel like we got our money’s worth.

We ate at the Derby Cafe. It was very expensive but also very good so we didn’t mind paying the high prices that one time. It was a fun day, except for the yelling kids running and jumping on everything...

If you are visiting Louisville as a family with small children, don't discount this place as a stop on your trip. I initially didn't have this museum on my agenda as I didn't think my kids would get much out of it. But after some suggestions from locals, we decided to check it out on our last day here. I'm glad we did! There was actually a lot to keep our older kids entertained (kids are 9, 6, 1). We spent about 3 hours here. There was a trivia game with a racetrack to score who was winning, a ride on horse "video game", dress up like a jockey, and "Ari's Horseshoe Adventure" (like a scavenger hunt to find different spots throughout the museum to help the horse Ari find his horseshoes and learn about horses, racing, and jockeys in a way that kids can understand). The 360° video was awesome to experience. When we first arrived it had just broken down and they were trying to fix it. Thankfully they did and we got to experience it (included in the general admission). There is so much to see and look at in the 2 floors of the museum plus a stable to see 2 horses. I hope you are lucky to get Barry as your race track tour guide because he was so knowledgeable and funny. The outside tour is maybe about 30mins and in the hot summer sun, that was plenty.

Another very nice lady (Joanie) helped us during our visit. Our oldest son lost the 1st card of the 12 for Ari's Horseshoe Adventure. When we went back to the spot to get a new card, they were all gone. We had gone to the front desk to see if they had more but they said they were out. Joanie went to look in their storeage and was able to find the backstock. My son (who is autistic) was elated to be able to have all 12 cards to finish the "Adventure". She made his day and I hope she sees this and...

We pulled in with a few minutes to spare before the next guided tour and were able to park and get tickets in less than 5 minutes. There is plenty of parking and I don’t think you would need to purchase tickets in advance. We went on a Thursday in August. The woman at the front desk, I believe Deb, was very kind and quick with helping us. We went to the grounds tour, the movie directly after, and then the museum. You could do them in any order but this worked for us. Tours and the movie run at specific times so that will require some planning.

You could spend easily 2+ hours here and we aren’t even Derby fans. The tour is a little under an hour and then the movie and the museum has two stories with memorabilia. We just did the general tour since admission included these things but other tours are more inclusive and can take you into the back part of the track to see stables and the “town”. We felt the general one was informative and fun for what we paid.

The track is easy to get to from the museum. This is a good bit of walking with distance between things so I think if you have mobility issues, strollers, or kids you should plan accordingly. It was also hot outside, and there is no shade where they take you to view the track and talk. Also this may be obvious but if you are “smell sensitive” plan accordingly. It smells like mud, horses, and flowers so it’s a lot to take in at once especially with it being hot it just radiates.

It was $40 for two people and that included everything above, which I think is reasonable! No charge for parking and you can walk the external grounds outside of the gates free or charge but not access any of the things beyond the gates.

Worth going to at least once. Kenna.claire on...