- Great Steamboat Race
The Great Steamboat Race is an annual event, taking place the Wednesday before the first Saturday of May, three days before the
Kentucky Derby as part of theKentucky Derby Festival . It takes place on theOhio River as it runs betweenLouisville, Kentucky andJeffersonville, Indiana . The race is normally between the "Belle of Louisville " and the "Delta Queen ", although other steamboats have participated. The first race was in 1963.The race begins underneath the
George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge . Both steamboats race to Six Mile Island, where they turn around to return to the bridge, which is also the finish line. The distance is 14 miles, with an average speed of seven miles per hour (11.27 km/h) for each boat.The Delta Queen won the first four races, after which its owners refused to race again until the Belle became more competitive. The Queen is a larger boat, with more powerful engines. It has been speculated that the race is predetermined, although no public proof exists. ["Kentucky Curiosities", by Vince Staten, pg 8.]
As of 2007, where the Belle of Louisville won in a controversial decision by the judges, the Belle has had 22 wins over 19 wins for the Delta Queen. The winner each years gets to have the "Golden Antlers" until the next race.
*"
Julia Belle Swain " in 1975 and 1976 (the latter of which it won)
*"Natchez IX" of theNew Orleans Steamboat Company in 1982 (which it won).
*"Spirit of Jefferson " raced in 1999 in the Belle's stead while the Belle was recovering from sabotage
*"Belle of Cincinnati " was a contestant in 2002, and followed as an observation boat in latter years.The previous two are not actually steamboats, as they run by diesel power instead of steam, and now go along with the actual steamboats as a venue for spectators.Popular viewing areas for the race are the old Water Tower in Louisville, and along Utica Pike in Jeffersonville, especially near Duffy's Landing.
Results
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Results 1963 Delta Queen 1964 Belle of Louisville 1965 Delta Queen 1966 Delta Queen 1967 N/A high water prevented race from happening 1968 Delta Queen 1969 Belle of Louisville 1970 Belle of Louisville 1971 Belle of Louisville 1972 Belle of Louisville 1973 Delta Queen 1974 Delta Queen 1975 Belle of Louisville 1976 Julia Belle Swain 1977 Delta Queen 1978 Delta Queen 1979 Belle of Louisville 1980 Belle of Louisville 1981 Belle of Louisville 1982 Natchez-New Orleans three boat race 1983 Belle of Louisville 1984 Delta Queen Belle of Louisville received a bomb threat and had to pull into Cox's Park , evacuating 613 passengers [BOMB THREAT SCUTTLES DERBY STEAMBOAT RACE "Lexington Herald-Leader" May 3, 1984 B1]1985 Delta Queen 1986 Delta Queen 1987 Belle of Louisville 1988 Belle of Louisville 1989 Delta Queen 1990 Delta Queen 1991 Belle of Louisville 1992 Delta Queen 1993 Belle of Louisville 1994 Delta Queen 1995 Belle of Louisville 1996 Belle of Louisville Race shortened due to high water levels on the Ohio. [ [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-72913917.html HIGH WATER SHORTENS GREAT STEAMBOAT RACE.(NEWS) - The Kentucky Post (Covington, KY) - HighBeam Research ] ] 1997 Delta Queen 1998 Belle of Louisville 1999 Spirit of Jefferson 2000 Belle of Louisville 2001 Delta Queen 2002 Belle of Louisville Belle of Cincinnati "initially won", but was disqualified when "it was found out" that it was diesel powered, and thus not a steamboat. 2003 Delta Queen three boat race 2004 Belle of Louisville 2005 Belle of Louisville Delta Queen was unable to come to Louisville due to high water levels on the Ohio. [ [http://www.wlky.com/sports/4453761/detail.html Belle Of Louisville Wins Great Steamboat Race - Sports News Story - WLKY Louisville ] ] 2006 Delta Queen 2007 Belle of Louisville The Delta Queen arrived at the finish line ahead of the Belle by 1.5 boatlengths, but because the Queen turned before it got to its turnaround buoy, the Belle was given the victory. [ [http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/news1/blog.html Derby Fun Blog 2007 ] ] 2008 Delta Queen The Belle of Louisville arrived at the finish line ahead of the Delta Queen, but because the Belle turned before it got to its turnaround buoy, the Queen was given the victory. 3 Boat Race. References
* [http://www.whas11.com/topstories/stories/052407whasjnLocalSteamboatrace.2ecb3b11.html May 2 WHAS11 article] 2007 results as well as details of judges decision
* [http://www.kdf.org/events/eventviewer.asp?id=129 Official Site] There is also an additional [http://www.kdf.org/events/event-steamboat.asp Official History] page
* [http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=196214772&channel=37006904 Brightcove review of the race] Done byCurious Travelers
* [http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070501/FEATURES/705010329 May 1, 2007 Courier-Journal article] Features a map of the race.
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