What can you eat and drink at the 2026 Kentucky Derby in Louisville?

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Churchill Downs releases its 2026 Kentucky Derby official menu: photos

Kentucky BBQ Shrimp is on the official menu of the 2026 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

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In early March, Robert Lopez, senior executive chef for Levy, the Chicago-based food and beverage provider for Churchill Downs, debuted this year’s official menu, including Southern-inspired dishes such as a Green Goddess pasta salad, Kentucky barbecue shrimp and honey bourbon chicken with roasted peach chutney. Lopez says getting the menu right is important for the full Derby experience.

“Honestly, the first thing (people) see when they come in is the food and beverage,” Lopez previously told the Courier Journal. “It's not the horses.”

Depending on your tickets, some guests may be treated to caviar service, prime filet mignon, celebrity chef sightings, elaborate cheese carvings and chocolate bourbon turtle slices from local favorite, Big Nita's Cheesecakes.

Big Nita's Cheesecakes typically serves chocolate bourbon turtle cheesecakes around Derby season.

More: Louisville dessert shop lands 'biggest order ever' for Kentucky Derby

Along with Big Nita's, a social media dessert sensation based in Butchertown, two other Louisville-area restaurants will be featured during the 152nd Kentucky Derby. That includes bites from CASK Southern Kitchen & Bar, 9980 Linn Station Road, and charcuterie offerings from Board and You Bistro & Wine Bar, which is based in New Albany, Indiana. This will be the Board and You's third year in a row with a presence at the Derby, according to owner Megan Flanagan. The restaurant's custom charcuterie boards will be available for suites and speakeasies at Churchill Downs.

"This is definitely a big deal for us," Flanagan told the Courier Journal. "We will produce a pretty high volume of boards in a short window of time, which is always a fun kind of chaos for our team."

Luckily, she says she "feels confident" in her team, which have "become pros at rising to the Derby occasion."

Elsewhere, the concessions area on the second floor of the Clubhouse is full of convenient food stalls, which will likely be familiar from 2025 offerings such as Bourbon Batch BBQ, Runner’s Grill & Brew, Longfield Links, Perfecta Pizzeria, and, among many other bars, one called, "I’ll Have Another."

Here's a preview of some food and drinks options during Kentucky Derby Week:

What's new to eat and drink the 152nd Kentucky Derby?

In 2025, Lopez unveiled the “new and improved” smoked bologna sandwich and a brand new item, the Nashville hot fried chicken sandwich. He expects to debut new food offerings this first weekend of May, including Levy's new concept called the Trackside Smokehouse.

The Austin-style smoked barbecue experience will be open at the Woodford Reserve Paddock Plaza on April 30, May 1, and May 2. The Trackside Smokehouse will also feature an appearance by celebrity pitmaster Rodney Scott on both the day of Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby. The menu will feature smoked chicken wings, pimento potato salad, and Scott's smoked pork butts and collard greens.

Pitmaster Rodney Scott, who operates restaurants in Charleston, SC and Birmingham, AL, with a third location in Atlanta on the way, is part of the 2021 lass of inductees to the Barbecue Hall of Fame

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Other famous foodie faces will be on site during the weekend, too, including Louisville's Damaris Phillips. Look out for other celebrity chefs such as Akhtar Nawab, a Louisville native, Stephanie Izard, Lorena Garcia, Fabio Viviani, Leah Cohen and Tristen Epps-Long, who won the most recent season of Bravo's "Top Chef."

For something sweet, the Graeter’s Ice Cream truck will make its official Kentucky Derby debut. The truck will offer ticketed guests the chance to sample Graeter's flavors, including the new Backstretch Bourbon Cherry. The truck will be stationed at the Clubhouse Gate entrance and is open to all guests attending Kentucky Oaks on May 1 and Kentucky Derby on May 2.

Graeter's Ice Cream is releasing a new limited-edition flavor called Backstretch Bourbon Cherry, just in time for the Kentucky Derby season.

On the cocktail side, patrons will get to meet the Paddock Paloma and The Perfecta.

Tequila Herradura, the official tequila of the Kentucky Derby, and Q MIXERS, have banded together to introduce the Paddock Paloma for the 152nd Run for the Roses.

Described as "a bright, refreshing take on the classic Paloma," the drink is made with tequila and grapefruit soda and is garnished with lime wedge and a jockey silks cocktail pick.

The Paddock Paloma will be available exclusively at all Tequila Herradura's trackside bars inside Churchill Downs.

More: Graeter's, Churchill Downs debut new ice cream for 2026 Kentucky Derby

Additionally, Old Forester will debut The Perfecta, a refreshing cocktail designed to complement the traditional mint julep experience. The new offering will be served in a limited-edition vintage-style branded cup, available exclusively at Old Forester's signature bars during Derby week.

"While the mint julep has rightfully remained a Derby mainstay for generations, we wanted to create something that speaks to today's cocktail enthusiast," Old Forester master taster Melissa Rift said in a news release. "The Perfecta delivers a perfectly balanced, refreshing option that brings new excitement to Churchill Downs and to bars and restaurants nationwide."

Old Forester will debut The Perfecta Cocktail at the 2026 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs

The Perfecta is made with 1.5 ounces of Old Forester 86 Proof, 1 ounce of pineapple juice, and 3 ounces of ginger beer, then served over ice in the branded cup with a lime and mint garnish.

What food will be available to most ticket holders at Churchill Downs?

Along with concessions staples such as chicken tenders, hot dogs, burgers, pretzel bites, and French fries, the track will offer "unique and exciting additions for Derby 152," according to Brandon Fullen, Levy's vice president of hospitality strategy.

From Snell Concessions, you'll find the following items:

• Smoked gouda mac and cheese bites
• Fried ravioli
• Churros
• Pimento Cheese sliders

From Louisville-based CASK Southern Kitchen & Bar, you'll find the following items:

Fried green tomato BLT with smoked tomato mayo + country white with an over-easy fried egg for an extra $2 at CASK Southern Kitchen & Bar.

• Smoked meatloaf sliders
• Fried green BLT sliders
• Pork belly bao buns

Other options include:

• Gourmet hot dogs from Daddy’s Dogs
• Empanadas from Nuchas
• Fruit kabobs and roasted almonds from Yum Shack
• Asian noodles from Island Noodles

More Kentucky Derby food news: 20 years of pink bliss: How the Oaks Lily became a Churchill Downs classic

What drinks will be available during the Kentucky Derby?

Along with Coca-Cola products and mocktails from Tractor beverages as nonalcoholic options, some sippers you'll find at Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby Week won't be a surprise.

Traditional cocktails such as as the Old Forester Mint Julep, the Woodford Reserve Spire, and the Oaks Lily will be available. The Herradura Margarita, a cocktail made with Tequila Herradura Reposado, fresh squeezed lime juice and agave nectar that debuted last year, will return. And the Paddock Paloma and The Perfecta, the newcomers mentioned above, will also be available.

Most of those cocktails will cost around $22, if the 2025 price points are the same in 2026, before all-inclusive dining begins on Friday and Saturday in most areas of the track.

White Claw hard seltzers, Kendall-Jackson wine, domestic beer, and Red Bull energy drinks will also be available.

Reach food and dining reporter Amanda Hancock at ahancock@courier-journal.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: What can you eat and drink at the 2026 Kentucky Derby in Louisville?