February 20, 2026. Louisville, KY. – It’s burger time and the Kentucky Derby Festival is calling all Festival foodies! Festival Fans can help select the 2026 ‘Derby Burger’ Champion. Dozens of original recipes were submitted for the competition sponsored by Dan-O’s Seasoning, Kentucky Beef Council and Kroger. The recipes have been narrowed down to the top eight and voting is open online to help choose the final four burgers to move on to the 2026 Derby Burger Challenge Cook-off. Now through Friday, Feb. 27, fans can visit KDF.org/DerbyBurger to vote for the burger they think stacks up and want to see make it to the cook-off.

The top eight 2026 Derby Burger Challenge finalists are:

• Bourbon Street Honey Brie Burger (double créme Brie, bacon, local honey, habanero pepper jelly, original seasoning) – Jack Jacobs, Louisville
• Cañonero II (pickles, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, American cheese, onions, original and preem-o seasoning) – Jeny Fernandez, Louisville
• Infield Indulgence (Gruyère cheese, bacon, cracked black pepper, brown sugar, Mint Julep jelly, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, butter or reserved bacon fat, original seasoning) – Aundre Blasingame, Louisville
• Smoke Show Slaw Cheeseburger (Colgin Liquid Smoke, American cheese, lettuce, hickory smoke BBQ sauce, homemade coleslaw, preem-o seasoning) – Ira Mowman, Louisville
• The Goober Burger (cream cheese, peanut butter, raspberry preserves, chipotle peppers, bacon, garlic powder, chipotle seasoning) – Jason Thrasher, Columbia, KY
• The Jerk (pepper jack cheese, jerk paste, mayonnaise, red onion mango, avocado, plantain chips, sweet Caribbean seasoning) – Greg Yopp, La Grange, KY
• The Perfect Date (spring mix, feta cheese, date syrup, homemade bacon date jam, butter, preem-o seasoning) – Brian Capps, Taylorsville, KY
• The Tasty Heat (romaine, mayonnaise, sea salt, cracked pepper, olive oil, white onions, pickles, white truffle hot sauce, buffalo wing cheddar cheese, spicy chipotle seasoning) – James Cox, Louisville

All burgers must be 100 percent Kentucky Cattleman’s Ground Beef and include Dan-O’s seasoning (Official Seasoning of the Kentucky Derby Festival) in the recipe. Burger recipes are judged based on Taste, Appearance, Creativity and Ease of Preparation. The final cook-off is set for Thursday, March 12. Official rules of the competition can be found online at www.kdf.org/beef.

The winning burger will be featured at Kroger’s Fest-a-Ville during Derby Festival, as well as inside Kroger stores. The winning chef receives a 2026 Official Derby Festival Poster, two tickets to the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport Thunder Over Louisville VIP Rooftop Party, two VIP tickets to Republic Bank BourbonVille, a $100 gift certificate to Kroger, a grilling prize package courtesy of the Kentucky Beef Council, which includes a grill, and a prize package from Dan-O’s Seasoning.