I haven’t bet or even watched any Derby before, but after my visit, I am definitely trapped by its charisma. The introductory movie is nice. It gives you all the details about the game. But what’s really amazing about this visit, is the tour after the movie. We went to the field where Kentucky Derby has taken place for more than 140 years. I learned a lot about the horse, the Jockey, the game, the price of seats and how the field is maintained. The visit really opens my eyes to a whole new world that I have not touched before. It’s a wonderful visit!!! Even you are not a Derby fan, you should check this museum out. It’s worthy!!!

A must-visit Louisville experience - whether or not you're into racing! The museum goes so in-depth on the history of Derby, and the immersive film really ties the experience together and brings it to life (so don't skip it!).

An amazing place to visit. We went there this mid-week in a large group and bought tickets in advance. The experience was very good. We learned many things about the Kentucky Derby and all of its history. All the guides were super friendly and cordial. We had the guided tour which was a very unique experience to learn and visit this museum. There was a 360 degree movie called "The Greatest Race" included in the tour. That was a unique experience to have. There was a gift shop there that has a large variety of souvenirs and hats. Overall, this museum is very good to explore. If you get the chance to explore Louisville in Kentucky, I would definitely suggest having this in your list.

We were visiting from out of state and specifically stopped in this area to visit Churchill Downs. There were not races at the time, but we did visit the museum and I will say it was amazing, even my non-horsey family enjoyed this experience. If you plan to visit, I would recommend purchasing tickets prior to arrival, this will ensure you are not spending a long amount of time in line, it will also preserve your space to see the track tour which is awesome. The docents that walk you into the track have years of Churchill Downs track experience and love sharing their experiences and track history with you. The visual inside the track is beautiful and a great picture opportunity. If you get an early enough walk through you may get to see horses working out on the track. Also, while there be sure to watch the track movie. It is extremely well done and touching if you are at all interested in horses, horse racing, or are just the idea. The museum is two floors with the first floor dedicated to track and track racing history. The second floor is dedicated to exhibits about Secretariat (racehorse), D. Wayne Lukas (trainer), and Bill Shoemaker (jockey), they are all very well done. I would also recommend, at the end of your visit, taking a stop into their cafe and try out a Mint Julip and one of their sandwiches. Overall, this was a great experience at $20/person, I would definitely recommend visiting this gorgeous museum.

Having never been to the Kentucky Derby, I was interested in learning about the tradition and event. The museum was well curated and there is so much history behind the annual event. There was an option to go on a tour of Churchill Down, so naturally we opted to do that and got to see the field, the stands and millionaire's row/club. If you have time and want to see it first hand, I'd recommend visiting the museum and Churchill Downs.

This is a must if you are in Louisville and are interested in the history of horse racing. Our tour guide Max was wonderful- we took a chance on the day that we went and were blessed to have seen an actual horse race which was for selling of the horses. There is a lot of history- we highly recommend that when you take the tour you ask as many questions as you possibly can as it makes it more interesting for both you as a spectator and for the tour guides as well. The museum has a lot of information so plan to spend a good amount of time there. It is also interesting for kids of all ages - there are video horse races that you can choose your own horse and ride and control the horse, there are life-size mannequins and horses of great history and there is even a mock starting gate for you to climb onto a horse for a great photo opportunity. Should you get a bit hungry there is the Derby Cafe where you can get a quick bite to eat however check for when it is open as it was closed on Sunday which we were aware of and plan for accordingly. Highly recommend

Wonderful, kind staff. They were helpful and thoughtful with our daughters. They brought our oldest a wheelchair and made sure the tour was accessible. Stan, our tour guide was knowledgeable and made the tour fun. He was humorous and engaging with our younger daughter, who loves horses. We will definitely return to experience the back end tour and a race. Thank you.

A very affordable and informative tour. I was able to ask questions of the guide both during and after the tour. The amount of knowledge he had was incredible. We got to walk out to the track and see where it is that the horses run. Hard to believe more than 150k people can fit! Outside of the tour, the museum has so much available information for you to read and go through. There are incredible artifacts and interactive features to engage with. We really enjoyed the 360° video experience as well.

Had a blast! My uncle was in town from California, so this was the perfect place to take him! Lots of history and fun stuff to see and experience.

Really awesome displays! The 360° film was a must see, very nicely done! I have never been to the Kentucky Derby, but after visiting the museum, I'm seriously considering attending!

Went on the Ultimate Tour of Churchill Downs through the museum. It was awesome. Stan was great ... he answered all of my non- stop questions about the facility. History is everywhere in that place. From how it was built to how the horses are cared for and trained - this is a must-see stop when in Louisville. Definitely worth the trip. Only suggestion for improvement - it was a four- hour tour that started early in the morning. The restaurant at the museum was closed on Sunday when we visited. It would have been nice to at least allow us the opportunity to grab a snack inside the facility. My wife and I were famished when it wrapped up.

Really cool to be on the grounds of something that you've only seen on TV completely packed with people. The museum gave a great history of the race, the grounds, the horses and the jockeys. The 360 degree movie was super heartwarming and a great addition to the museum. The track tour was cool. The facts about the grounds were very interesting. There is a lot of construction going on right now so the cranes and such were in a lot of my photos. The staff helping in the front were not super friendly or helpful with providing what was available that day. The entire thing was definitely something to see, not sure if I'll be back again.

I definitely recommend checking out Museum before or after the tour! Try catch the video first as that was definitely the best experience of the museum as you feel like you’re in the derby! Great place to check out if you’re in the Louisville area!

A very informative experience. You get a real feel for the Derby and its history. Horses ,jockeys, and footage that will give you goose bumps. Definitely a must see when you're in Louisville.

The tour is a good intro to the Kentucky Derby if you know nothing about the derby whatsoever before going like us. We really the museum. The film was really cool There was also an interactive race betting and horse race you can play, which were fun.

Best tour guide, (Megan, I think) and loved getting to see a race as well. Very worth every penny of admission and the two hours to see it. Could never have spent another two in the museum really learning. Great video as well. Definitely recommend!

Great museum with helpful staff. Be sure to sign up for the track tour, it's included in your ticket. If you love horse racing I would plan to spend a few hours here. Staff was helpful and gave great suggestions of exciting past Derby races to watch. Bathrooms were clean and well stocked. Highly recommend visiting for horse racing fans. Girl Scouts have an opportunity to earn a patch here as well.

Limited to ten people per group, the Bourbon and Bridles Experience was a little expensive at $100 pp, but it was a lot of fun. The tour was short, but included going out to the winners circle of the track. Following the tour, we went to a small room off the museum to learn a bit about bourbons and ryes, do a tasting of four whiskeys, then make a mint julep. This section takes about 45 minutes, followed by access to the general museum. Start your day with a good lunch, the 2pm Bourbon and Bridles Experience, then find somewhere for a nice dinner to make for a really great day.

Lots of fun. We really enjoyed the video. Very informative. Gave us a new perspective about horse racing. Didn’t know much about it or how much horses cost and all it entailed. Loved the outfits and gift shop.

As people who aren't into horse racing we weren't sure if we would like this museum. Definitely glad we went. It was far more enjoyable than I ever expected. Made me want to go see a horse race the next time we are in town.

We had a wonderful half day here- did the barns tour and then the museum. So much fun!! The greatest race movie is absolutely amazing! Make me really want to come back here for the race. I also love the house bitting experience and riding games.

Loved it! Did one of the tours, so worth it. Make sure to book a tour ahead of time. Would love to go back to do one of the other tours that were already sold out on our only day there. The museum was neat to walk around. Also, I loved the movie, got me a little emotional.

This was definitely a great experience to go through a tour explaining the history of the facility and actually see a couple of horse races. IT IS HUGE! The other neat aspect is some of the people dressed up. Ladies and young women dressed up very nicely with hats. It showed that there is still class around.

Visited Churchill Downs at Louisville, Kentucky. Loved the museum and watched the history of Churchill Downs too in a 360 degree auditorium screen. Had taken the tour too to see where the most attended and most watched horse race takes place in the United States. Would love to come back to Churchill Downs in May to watch the Derby in person. One can buy different memorabilia from the gift shop too.

Wonderful 360 degree film viewed from swivel stools. Not easy on the back! The collections are amazing and well presented. I learned alot about the world racing. Coming from Massachusetts, I haven't had any exposure to horse racing. The jockey and trainer sections of the museum were very interesting too.

I was part of a tour group who stopped here. Had an excellent docent to show us around and answered any questions we had. Loads of info. The museum is excellent as well.

A must see for everyone! A fantastic way to explore the rich beauty of the Thoroughbred racehorse and the splendor of the Kentucky Derby. This is a wonderful attraction for all ages. Even if you don't follow the sport, I would recommend a visit. If you love horse racing, you will be in heaven! The short film, " The Greatest Race" is stunning! I might be addicted because I kept going back to watch it. Warning, it may give you goosebumps and a sudden urge to buy a racehorse! Let's not forget, there is a gift shop. I absolutely loved the displays. The products are quality and the prices are reasonable. Oh, and I must mention one of the most important parts... The customer service is excellent! The staff is friendly, fun and knowledgeable. They will make you feel right at home. Take my advice, just go and enjoy yourself!

Definitely worth your while to visit here. I recommend the Barn and Backside tour of the facility, which ranges from $45-50 per person. For just taking the tour of the museum itself, the admission charge as of this writing is $17.

I visited the museum as part of its annual Horses and Haunts Tour during October. Our guides Heather and Molly were excellent guides, providing a lot of history to this native and Derby attendee (for 45+ years)! It was super cool to see the track at night and hear these stories under the hallowed spires. Highly recommend visiting the museum and taking advantage of this tour every October!

What a truly wonderful experience. The beginning video was inspiring & followed by an informative tour about the history of horse racing and significance of the Kentucky Derby.

Love the history and while taking the tour you can feel the history. Just knowing how many people and horses have been though the same hallways as you just make the whole experience feel special. I would highly recommend coming for visit and even more come when the Kentucky Derby is on.

We stopped in not knowing what to expect. Im not a huge race fan, however, I was watching in 2006 when Barbaro won. He stole my heart and his tragic ending has stayed with me. The museum and tour are wonderful. We enjoyed our time here. Only complaint was the gift shop. Super expensive.

Worth stopping to see even if passing through. The 18 minutes video plays every hour. You can watch it from the second floor or inside the room. I recommend getting to museum at top of the hour to watch The Greatest Race for better appreciation of the museum if you know little to none on this American tradition. The walking tour is great. Tour guide was high in spirits, knowledgeable, and respectful to keep guest in shade on a hot day.

It was amazing to learn so much about this race that I wasn't aware of! Did you know the first horse to win, Aristides was conditioned by a black man, Ansel Williamson? I was so surprised and it made me want to come for the Derby next year! Staff was kind and helpful. They let me buy too much stuff in the gift shop but I'll forgive them for that 😅. We weren't even planning to stop here but needed to kill time before another activity and I'm so glad we came! That 360 movie is a must and I'm so excited that I'm light enough to be a jockey! I didn't have time but make sure you get a flight from the bourbon bar!

Very interesting place about Derby History, you have to take the tour to the barns to see the horses but you have to be older than 8 years old. The history tour is very interesting and it was so cool to hear about the history and care they give to the horses definitely a must seen spot of Louisville 😉

If you want to learn some good ole horse racing history come here! They have a fantastic museum of objects from horses and jockeys. From secretariat to American pharaoh! They have go it all! If you have the chance please take a tour of the place!! I did the backside/barns and got to meet some wonderful lead ponies!

Book in advance!!! We woke up Saturday morning and decided we would add this to our list for the day. The website showed all times for the tour were still available, so I decided to wait until we got there, since I wasn't sure when we'd arrive. We got there about 2pm and all the tours were full. We still paid full price to see the museum. Plenty of free parking was available! There is a lot to see and do in this small museum. Very informative! My daughter loved the exhibits and being hands on with racing equipment. Secretariat’s exhibit was amazing! The employees were very friendly! The store was a bit over priced and very small. The café closed at 3pm which seemed kind of early too for me.

We showed up and did the Barns and Backside tour, which is an hour, then did the walking tour an hour after that concluded. Really great tours. We went to the museum in between the tours and saw the greatest race movie. Currently a lot of construction but it'll be great once it's done. Highly recommend the tours. The barns and backside gets you to the other side of the track, which is nice, but I wish we could have walked into the barn area, although I understand why we couldn't. Great experience.

I'm not even a horse racing fan and this place is amazing. We went on the stable tour and learned so much about the history of the derby. The access you get to everything is awesome. To watch the horses train right in front of you is very cool.

There's a lot to see in the museum itself, and the movie was neat, but the tour sucked. I get that they're not part of Churchill Downs technically, but surely they could cooperate better. There was no way to hear the tour guide with her portable mic over the pop music blasting through the place. You would think CD could turn that off when tours are in progress. I'm hard of hearing, and my hearing aids can't prioritize a microphone over music blaring over a PA system. We had a lot of older adults on our tour and I suspect they couldn't hear much if anything, either. This isn't an inexpensive tour, so it's really disappointing to not be able to hear anything. I feel like it was a waste of money. FYI - There are closed captions on the movie, but they are hard to see (below the screen in a box) and are not in sync with the film. Due to the construction, there were also things we were unable to see that are normally part of the tour.

I have to say we went there with low expectations. Who wants to see a museum dedicated to racing beautiful animals. The place was beautiful even with construction going on. The tour is highly recommended. Our tour guide explained the housing of the horses and that there trainers literally stay on grounds with there animals in apartments furnished by the track. The museum was great! The area showing all the surgical instruments that the veterinarians use was pretty cool. All the history and prestige was well worth the trip. I know these are multi-million dollar animals and there care is well above normal, but it is nice to know they are well taken care of. Great history in the museum and even recipes for food only served at the track. Can't wait to try a few.

Very good lots of things to learn. A race simulator great for children. Tour guide was very nice and helpful with questions. I got lunch at The Derby Café I got the burger, 2 downsides is that they ran out of potato chips within an hour of service and the Burger was 13 bucks so a little pricy. Other than that a great place to take the whole family. (Thanks to my family for some of the pictures)

We had a great visit at the Kentucky Derby Museum. We even got to watch a Claiming Race up close and personal, with the chance to pet a horse after. Our tour guide was awesome, with so many personal experiences throughout his life of growing up there. The 360° movie is awesome. The museum is filled with loads of great information for all ages to enjoy. Definitely recommend.

This place was so neat to visit. The museum was clean and very informational. Our tour guide was funny and also very knowledgeable on horse races and horses. It was a beautiful day, so we got lots of great photos and video! I want to go back and take my daughters, I think they would love it!

It was a dreary day but still fun to see Churchill Downs/Kentucky Derby Museum. A fun museum with a lot of information. The customer service lady who helped us out in the gift shop was very stand-offish and wasn’t the nicest. A fun experience!