A while ago a reader reached out to me to ask if I had any games that she could play at a Kentucky Derby party that she was hosting. I had a few up my sleeve but I was also able to come up with some new games just for the occasion. And today I want to share with you the Big List of Kentucky Derby Games!
The Kentucky Derby has been running since 1875 and might be the most prestigious horse race of the year. It runs on the first Saturday in May each year. I’m not a race fan myself, but I do know that this derby is a big deal with people dressing up in their best clothes and watching the beautiful horses. In this list you will find all kinds of fun games from dice games, to card games, to minute to win it games and everything in-between all with a Kentucky Derby theme!
If you’re hosting a Kentucky Derby party or just want to have a great excuse to have a great time, this list has something for everyone!
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To set the stage for a great Kentucky Derby party you will want to create a fun environment. There are lots of ways to make it a fun day. You can have red roses set out, horseshoes, horse statues, and you can bring out your very best dishes and glass ware. There are tons of festive decorations available like table runners, horse garlands, banners, disposable cups, plates and napkins. You can make it as fancy as you'd like. See the selection of party decorations here.
Now that the scene is all set, let’s get to the games!
Kentucky Derby Party Game: Fascinator Contest
As I mentioned, the derby is a big deal and people dress up in their very best. The race is also in the south so fashionable hats or fascinators are a must. In this game, players are competing to make the best fascinator that they can.
You will need a small paper plate and some ribbon for each player. With hot glue or strong tape, attach the ribbon to the underside of the plate so that it is long enough to be tied around someone’s head. You will also need craft supplies for the players to use to decorate their “hats.”
Once everyone has their plate, you can set a timer for 5 or 10 minutes. Of course, you don’t need a timer if you prefer. The players now try to create their best fascinator with the supplies provided. At the end of the time, each player must put on their “hat” and tie it.
The judge can award prizes in categories like tallest, most colourful, most creative. Or you can put it to a viewer’s choice and have one winner.
Kentucky Derby Party Game: What’s your Derby Name?
This is less of a game and more of an activity. Using the chart, find your name with the letters in your own name to see what your derby name is. It’s a ton of fun to wear name tags showing off your great new name. You can get a copy of our name generator in our shop.
Kentucky Derby Party Game: Horse Shoes
If you’re lucky enough to be able to have an outdoor party, you can play horseshoes. You can get a wide of variety of games from kid games (that are just as much fun) right up to the more professional sets. This is a best selling set if you need a new one.
Kentucky Derby Party Game: Pony Races
This game is a fun, simple race game that players of all ages will love.
You will need 6 dice, a game board with 12 spaces for each horse, and 6 horse movers with labels from 1 to 6. This game is for six players. If you have less than six players, you can either assign more than one horse to a player or take out some horses.
The horses all start at the start line. Each player is assigned one horse and one dice. To start, everyone rolls their dice and the highest number gets to go first.
On your turn, you roll the dice. Next you move the horse with that number forward one space. For extra fun, you could play that if you roll your own number you get to move two spaces. Players keep taking turns until one horse crosses the finish line.
When one horse crosses the finish line, that player wins the race.
Kentucky Derby Party Game: Trivia
I’m always big on learning about what we’re celebrating and one of the best ways to learn a quick little something is to play trivia games! I know I learned a lot out the Kentucky Derby and racehorses while doing the research for the trivia games we have in our shop.
Kentucky Derby Party Game: Rose Race
This is a minute to win it style game. You will need lots of paper circles (you could use a hole punch like this one to make them quickly.) You can play where all players play at the same time or you can play where one player goes at a time. When the one minute timer starts, players try to put as many roses together as possible. The roses should be at least 6 papers big to qualify. The player who can make the most roses wins.
Variation: Instead of seeing who can make the most roses in a minute, you could see who can make the best rose out of the paper circles. There is several techniques that would work to make the roses.
Kentucky Derby Party Game: Toilet Paper Race
For this Kentucky Derby party game, you will need a roll of toilet paper per player and a small, plastic horse (any small item would work.) The players put their rolls on the floor, and place their horse on the last square. Now all players will roll their rolls out to a start place. To play, players need to reroll the paper keeping their horse upright. The first player to get their horse to the roll is the winner.
Kentucky Derby Party Game: What’s in a Name?
For this game, players will each need a paper and pencil. At the top of the paper, everyone writes the same word. To make it derby themed, you can use past winners’ names. The game is to see how many words you can make out of the name using the letters that are found in the name. Some good ones might be Mystik Dan (2024), Always Dreaming (2017) California Chrome (2014) or you could use the word Thoroughbred. Set a timer and race to see who can make the most words. You can get your copy of our already done for you with 5 games ready to go.
Kentucky Derby Party Game: Pedals Around the Rose
This is more of a puzzle than a game. One person starts with the answer and everyone else has to try to figure out what the pattern is. You will need 5 dice. You can tell them the name of the game is significant. The answer is that the dot in the middle of the dice is the rose and the dots around the dot are the petals. Therefore only the outside dots on the 3s and 5s count. To play, you roll the dice and tell everyone how many petals are around the rose. Do this a few times. You can have players roll the dice and tell you how many to see if they have the right answer. You could either have a prize for the first one who figures it out or just keep playing until everyone has it figured out.
An example roll would be 4, 4, 5, 5, 6 so there are 8 pedals around the rose. Example two: 2, 3, 4, 5, 5 there are 10 pedals. Another example is 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 there are 6 pedals.
Kentucky Derby Party Game: Jockey Obstacle Course
This one can just be for the kids. Of course if the adults want in on the fun that works too. You could also make it a team sport. To play you will need to set up an obstacle course where players have to race around, over, maybe under things. Time everyone and the fastest player through the course wins.
Would You Rather Derby Edition
Everyone loves a good would you rather. You can make your own list or race into the ones at our show with questions like would you rather be the announcer or a jockey? Would you rather win a million dollars or own the winning horse? And would you rather watch the race from the grandstands or the infield? You can grab your copy of our Would You Rather Kentucky Derby Edition here.
Kentucky Derby Party Game: Hobby Race
To get the games physical you can have your own Kentucky Derby race. You can make hobby horses out of pool noodles by bending the end of the noodle over and tying it with rope that you can make look like a bridle. If you’d like you can use felt to make ears, nose and eyes. You can also glue yarn on to make the horses mane. Or you can get a 12 pack of inflatable hobby horses here. You could also use broomsticks if you’d like.
When you have your horses, line everyone up on a starting gate. Count down and have them “ride” their horses to the finish line. Of course, the first jockey to the finish wins!
The Walk Over
Another tradition of the derby is the walk over. That tradition inspired our next Kentucky Derby game. You will need a solid book for each player, preferably of the same size and weight. Players will start with the book on their heads and will have to walk around while balancing the book on their heads. No hands are allowed. If the book falls, they are out of the game. To make it harder, you can set up obstacles or tasks that each player must do or go around. The last player with a book is the winner.
Kentucky Derby Party Game: Mint Julep Relay
This is another active derby game. You will need two severing trays, small glasses, water, mint leaves (or paper “leaves”) and a straw for each glass. The drink of the derby is the Mint Julep so in this game, teams will have to be quick and careful to deliver their drinks. To start, fill each glass with water, tops with the mint leaves and add a straw. Each team will need the same amount of glasses on their trays. The teams line up. The first player will take their tray and wait for the go command. Players now race to the end zone and then race back to their team where they will hand over the tray to the next player. Teams will try to be the first team to have all their team members to have a turn. But players will have to be careful! They need to try to do their running without spilling. The first team to get all of their players through the relay is the winner. As a judge, you can determine if a team is disqualified for having spilled too much of their drink.
Kentucky Derby Party Game: Race Horsing Game
This is the most involved game on the list of Kentucky Derby games. Players will need a large amount of chips or coins to play. To start, the starch horses are chosen. These horses will cost you if you have them. Next, players are dealt cards. If these cards match up with the scratch horses, you pay. Now to play the game, players take turns roll the dice to move the horses along to the finish line, or if it’s a scratch horse, you got it, they need to pay. You can learn all the rules to this fun, frustrating and thoroughly entertaining game here. You can get a wooden copy of the game board here or you can make your own with our DIY Horse Racing game kit here.
Kentucky Derby Party Game: Name the Kentucky Derby Winning Horse
For this game, you will need slips of paper, pencils and paper, and a hat. To start, you can either have players write down two separate words that would be found in a horse’s name or you can have the words pre-written. Words in the list could be ones like Lucky, Dashing, Mighty, Breezy, Sassy, and Crazy. To play, each player pulls two slips out of the hat. They then need to combine the two words into a horse’s name. You can play just for fun or you can vote on the best name. You can get our kit for this game here.
Kentucky Derby Party Game: Roll a Horse
This game is a simple game of luck and drawing that usual gets great laughs. You will need one dice and a pencil and paper per player. To play, you roll the dice. You need to roll a one for the body before you can roll any other parts. Once you have a body, you can roll for the other parts and then draw them. The first player with a completed horse wins.
Here are the rolls: 1 – body, 2 – head, 3 – front legs, 4 – back legs, 5 – main, 6 – tail
You can get the easy to follow chart here.
Winner’s Circle
This is not a game, but a fun addition to any derby party. Gather some props like a garland of roses, a trophy, a plastic horse or two and let players take their photos in the “winner’s circle” photo booth. You can make your own props or you can get a big pack of them here.
And the Winner is….
You! With these fun, lively Kentucky Derby games you’re sure to be the hit of the party. There’s something for everyone so on race day, gather round, play some games and get ready for the most exciting 2 minutes in TV. If you’re looking to shop for our games, be sure to get our Kentucky Derby Party Games Bundle with 10 exciting games!
Looking for more fast fun? Check out our Two Minutes to Win It Kentucky Derby games!
Don’t forget to visit our Family Game Shelf shop for some great Kentucky Derby games.
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