They say the Kentucky Derby is the fastest two minutes in sports. There is another Derby-time race that not everyone knows about, and it lasts a little longer than two minutes- and it’s a little biased. The race I’m talking about is the Great Steamboat Race held Wednesday.
If you’ve never heard of it, the Great Steamboat Race pits the Belle of Louisville against the Belle of Cincinnati and they race down the Ohio River. Call it hometown advantage, but somehow the Belle of Louisville wins almost every year, and this year was no exception. The Belle of Louisville always seems to cut corners and sometimes even gets a ride from a tugboat to pull her ahead.
This year was different- instead of a traditional race, the two boats had a scavenger-hunt type competition that was all about collecting points, which they earned by completing different tasks. One task was picking up a barrel of bourbon, and a special passenger- the Belle of Louisville got the Louisville cardinal mascot at Cox Park.
Crowds line the Ohio River on both the Kentucky and Indiana side to watch the boats go by, but the best place to be is on one of the boats. Passengers on the boats have live music, good food, and of course, Kentucky bourbon. I road on the Belle of Louisville one year in high school, and it really does beat sitting on the banks.
The Belle of Louisville won with 77 points and the Belle of Cincinnati got a measily 22 points.
Check out the Courier-Journal’s article:
http://www.wlky.com/news/19328264/detail.html
The Belle of Louisville’s site:
http://www. belleoflouisville.org/
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