SAMTEC NEW TITLE SPONSOR OF 2023 EVENT
May 1, 2023. Louisville, KY. – Bed racing fans filled the stands at Broadbent Arena tonight for the Kentucky Derby Festival’s Great Bed Races. Samtec is the new Title Sponsor of the 2023 event, which featured nearly 40 teams pushing their decorated beds around a figure-eight course, competing for the fastest time. For the second straight year, Full Throttle Adrenaline Park won the Champions Division with a time of 30.5 seconds. St. Elizabeth Catholic Charities won the Fun Division with a time of 34.1 seconds.
The theme of this year’s event, “Through the Decades,” had teams decorating their beds in their favorite movies, music, fashion, television shows and sports. The bed decorations included everything from “Back to the Future,” “The Flintstones,” The Pink Ladies from “Grease,” “I Love Lucy,” Mario and more. Prizes went to the teams with the three fastest times, as well as for the “Best Decorated Bed,” “Most Entertaining,” and “Cone Eater” categories.
The results of the 34th annual competition:
2023 Results – Champions Division:
| Place | Team |
| 1 | Full Throttle Adrenaline Park – 30.5 |
| 2 | Best-One Tire & Service– 32.9 |
| 3 | Rubbies Racing and Rocking Through the Decades – 33.1 |
2023 Results – Fun Division:
| Place | Team |
| 1 | St. Elizabeth Catholic Charities – 34.1 |
| 2 | City of Jeffersontown – 35.2 |
| 3 | Team ZEON – 36.2 |
- Best Decorated Bed: Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport – (Boxing ring featuring Muhammad Ali)
- Most Entertaining: Rubbies Racing and Rocking Through the Decades (Featuring a Jukebox and characters, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the Queen of Hearts and more)
- Cone Eater Award: United Healthcare
First held in 1990 on the cobblestone streets of downtown Louisville in Theatre Square as “Bedlam in the Streets,” the event exploded in popularity. Now in its 34th year, it continues to attract participants from small local businesses to five-man teams from large corporations.
The Great Bed Races are sponsored by Samtec. Contributing Sponsors: Drexel Metals, Kentucky Venues and Texas Roadhouse. Media Sponsor: Classic Rock 107.7. The Samtec Great Bed Races are broadcast live on WAVE.
