SUMBIT YOUR RECIPES FOR ANNUAL SIZZLING SHOWDOWN
Friday, November 21, 2025. Louisville, KY. – Burgers, bold flavors and bragging rights! The Kentucky Derby Festival is calling all burgers bosses as the search begins for the 2026 ‘Derby Burger’ Champion. This marks the 14th year for the beef showdown sponsored by Dan-O’s Seasoning, Kentucky Beef Council and Kroger. Grill masters and burger enthusiasts are invited to submit their best and beefiest burger recipes from Monday, Nov. 24, through Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. Recipes can be submitted online at KDF.org/Beef.
“Partnering with the Kentucky Derby Festival allows us to celebrate two of our favorite things: Beef and the Derby season,” said Kelly Baird, Director of Communications and Events of the Kentucky Beef Council. “For anyone considering entering this year’s Derby Burger competition, my advice is to keep it simple, creative and tasty. Let the beef shine and your burger will do the talking!”
Participation is open to all chefs – from the home kitchen to restaurants. Entrants are encouraged to use a creative burger name, description, and photo as part of their submission. All burgers must be 100 percent Kentucky Cattlemen’s Ground Beef and include Dan-O’s seasoning (Official Seasoning of the Kentucky Derby Festival) in the recipe. The burger recipes are judged based on Taste, Appearance, Creativity and Ease of Preparation.
Derby Festival and burger fans will help choose the finalists in the competition. In February, 8 preliminary finalists will be announced from all submissions and then voting will open online. Those votes will help narrow down to the final four ‘Derby Burger’ contestants who will then move on to a cook-off in March.
The winning burger will be featured at Kroger’s Fest-a-Ville during Derby Festival, as well as inside Kroger stores. Official rules of the competition can be found online at KDF.org/Beef.
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.
