*Private URL: derbymuseum.org/ggclub
This is as close to an “insider” experience as it gets, folks.
Kentucky Derby Museum and Stitzel-Weller have joined forces to share the best of spring in Kentucky with Garden & Gun readers!
In the weeks leading up to the Kentucky Derby, Louisville and Churchill Downs are pure magic. The backside is buzzing once again, as Thoroughbreds and the passionate workers who care for them return for training following racing season down south. Hat shopping begins in earnest, Bourbon is flowing and talk turns to who’s ahead in the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard rankings.
Start your day on the Museum's exclusive Backstretch Breakfast Tour at Churchill Downs. You’ll experience the thrill of seeing Thoroughbreds thunder by at speeds nearing 40 miles per hour during their early morning works. Tour guides will take you on a golf cart through the tunnels under the track to the Infield where Derby revelers have partied since the first running of the Kentucky Derby in 1875! There, you’ll take in panoramic views of the Grandstand, the historic Twin Spires™, and green-roofed barns where the horses are stabled. Next, you'll visit the Backside of the track (closed to the general public), where nearly 1,400 horses live during racing and training season. You’ll enjoy breakfast in the Post Time Kitchen frequented by horsemen, while you get up-close views of the horses’ morning training session and possibly catch a glimpse of a Derby contender. Following the tour, you'll head back to the Museum to watch our signature 360° immersive film "The Greatest Race," and soak up the history of the Kentucky Derby throughout our exhibits.
$120/person
Maximum 6 guests, ages 10+
While guests will be transported via golf cart for portions of this tour, please note that there is also significant walking
The legendary Stitzel-Weller Distillery is a short ten-minute drive (on surface roads) from Churchill Downs. Here you’ll soak up the history on a private tour and elevated tasting, where you’ll walk in the footsteps of bourbon legends. Five brass keys once hung on the door of this iconic distillery. Discover what these represent for Blade & Bow Bourbon and the history of whiskey when you visit. Then retreat upstairs to the Garden & Gun Club where your reserved table awaits.
$120/person
Hotel Distil is a boutique hotel offering refined luxury located on Louisville’s Whiskey Row. We strongly recommend dining at their signature restaurant, Repeal Oak-Fired Steakhouse, housed in the former site of J.T.S. Brown and Sons’ wholesale, warehouse and bottling operations.
Exclusive Offer: 25% off Standard Rate
"Yesterday was over the top, a bucket list experience! We had so much fun, it was just perfect and y’all were so nice."
- E. Kimbrough, Texas
November 2021
Garden&Gun Subscriber since 2007