February 21, 2025. Louisville, KY. – It’s burger time and the Kentucky Derby Festival is calling all Festival foodies! Festival Fans can help select the 2025 ‘Derby Burger’ Champion. Dozens of original recipes were submitted for the competition sponsored by 80 Acres Farms, 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 2025 Derby Burger Challenge Cook-off. Now through Friday, Feb. 28, 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 2025 Derby Burger Challenge finalists are:

• Brielicious Burger (brie, caramelized onion jam, tomato, butter lettuce, original seasoning) – Greg Yopp, LaGrange, KY
• Kentucky Fiesta Cheese Burger (pico, avocado spread, chihuahua cheese, romaine blend, chipotle seasoning) – Ira Mowman, Louisville
• The Cowboy (boursin cheese, candied jalapeno, pepper jack, fried red onions, sweet bacon jam, spring mix, original seasoning) – Steve Rossell, Louisville
• The Kiss Me Now Maybe Later Garlic Burger (garlic, mayonnaise, lemon, balsamic or apple cider vinegar, bourbon, Coca-Cola, arugula mix, original and sea seasoning) – Brian Finneran, Louisville
• Burnham’s Beer Cheese Bourbon Bacon Jam Bom-Diggity Burger (bacon jam, bourbon, beer cheese, thyme, original seasoning) – William Burnham, Louisville
• Italian Stallion (garlic toast, provolone, roma tomato, pepperoni, marinara, basil, cheesoning seasoning) – Jeremy Fleitz, Louisville
• Perfect Peppery Prosciutto Burger (havarti, prosciutto, red pepper jelly, garlic, arugula, basil, everything bagel crunchy seasoning) – Bette Niemi, Louisville
• Cameron’s Kickoff Derby Burger (hickory smoked bacon, apple butter, summer lettuce, cajun seasoning, maple bourbon seasoning, preem-o seasoning) – Cameron Myers, Taylorsville, KY

All burgers must be 100 percent Kentucky Cattleman’s Ground Beef and include Dan-O’s seasoning (Official Seasoning of the Kentucky Derby Festival) and greens and/or herbs from 80 Acres Farms (Official Greens of the Festival) in the recipe. Burger recipes are judged based on Taste, Appearance, Creativity and Ease of Preparation. The final cook-off is set for Monday, March 10. 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 2025 Official Kentucky Derby Festival Poster, two VIP tickets to the 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, a prize package from Dan-O’s Seasoning, and an 80 Acres Farms Swag Pack.