← Drop calendar

Kentucky Derby

Churchill Downs · Louisville, KY · Apr 30 to May 1, 2027

2027 race dates ARE published on kentuckyderby.com: Kentucky Oaks 'FRIDAY APRIL 30, 2027' and Kentucky Derby 'SATURDAY MAY 1, 2027'. Everything else on this record (parking, prices, RV rules) is from the most recent CONFIRMED edition, Derby Week 2026, because the 2027 parking page has not been published as of 2026-07-27. The live travel-parking page still shows 2026: Derby Week ran Thursday April 23 through Saturday May 2, 2026, with Thurby April 30, Oaks May 1, and Derby Saturday May 2, 2026. Expect 2027 parking to be republished in roughly March to April 2027, matching the 2026 file timestamps.

The drop date is not published yet. We are watching for it.

Allocation: first_come (Churchill Downs RV day parking is pay-on-site, no advance sales); waitlist (Kentucky Exposition Center RV lot, the only real camping option, is waitlist-only for 2027 due to construction) Churchill Downs sells NO RV camping and NO advance RV parking, and this does not change no matter how early you try. The onsite lots are sold by vehicle type only, and RV is not one of the types: the official CDRT Parking Derby Week vehicle table lists SUV, van, sedan stretch limo, sprinter, mini-bus, party bus, and motorcoach. The page is blunt about it: 'Passes are vehicle-specific (car, limo, mini-bus, motor coach). Wrong vehicle types will be denied entry.' Onsite parking was SOLD OUT for Thurby, Oaks and Derby 2026, and there are no onsite sales on the day. The only RV option Churchill Downs itself publishes is DAY PARKING, not camping, at the Bronze Lot area of L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium, available Thurby, Oaks and Derby days only: 'Pay on-site (cash or card): $40 (car/truck), $150 (RV), $200 (bus). No advance sales.' You walk from there to the track. There is no reservation, no on-sale moment, and no hookups. For ACTUAL RV camping the primary-source option is the Kentucky Exposition Center RV lot (Lot L, west side of KEC, 937 Phillips Ln), operated by Kentucky Venues, which is the same KEC that runs the free Derby shuttle for frontside ticket holders. KEC publishes a distinct Derby rate: 'Derby: Electric $318 / Dry $265' against a normal 'Daily: Electric $90 / Dry $62', all tax included. Payment is in full by credit or debit card when the reservation is made; no cash or checks; cancellation forfeits one night's deposit and must be made seven days before the show starts. THE 2027 TRAP: KEC states 'The Kentucky Exposition Center is in the midst of a major expansion and renovation project. Due to these ongoing improvements, the RV lot's availability beginning in early 2027 is difficult to predict. Instead of taking reservations for that timeframe, we are offering to add interested RV campers to our wait list, and our RV staff will contact you with an update for your requested stay as it approaches.' So for Derby 2027 there is no bookable RV camping at KEC right now, only a waitlist form at https://kyvenues.jotform.com/251885871910971. KEC also warns 'Electric hookups are often sold out during large events.' Reservations were separately unavailable for September 2026.

Official camping page
How you get in
First come
Hookups
Churchill Downs: NONE. What the event sells to an RV is asphalt day parking at L&N Stadium, no power, no water, no sewer, no camping. Kentucky Exposition Center RV lot (the real camping option): MIXED, and mostly partial. Per the operator's own 2026 camping flyer, 'A reservation guarantees one 20/30-amp electrical service (50-amp service is offered if available), use of a dump station, water tank fill station, and bath house access located in the RV lot. Some sites have water (weather permitting) and sewer hookups available as shared resources.' So the guaranteed product is 20/30-amp electric plus shared dump station and fill station, NOT a full hookup site; water and sewer at the site are shared and not guaranteed. KEC also sells DRY camping outright at a lower price ('Dry Camping locations vary by show and availability'), and dry is the ONLY option during the Kentucky State Fair ('primitive camping is the only option available. No hook-ups are available'). Bring an extra 50 to 100 ft water hose, a water splitter, an extension cord, and a sewer hose; KEC says so itself.
Price
$150 per day, and this is RV DAY PARKING at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium, not camping. Separately, RV camping at the Kentucky Exposition Center carried a 2026 Derby rate of $265 dry to $318 electric, tax included, and the flyer does not state whether that Derby rate covers one night or the whole Derby stay, so do not present it as a nightly figure.
Rig limits
Churchill Downs onsite lots: an RV simply does not qualify. The official CDRT vehicle table sets spaces by dimension (SUV 18 ft, van 20 ft, sedan stretch limo 30 ft / 2 spaces, sprinter 22 ft / 2 spaces, mini-bus under 33 ft / 4 spaces, party bus over 33 ft / 6 spaces, motorcoach 45 ft / 6 spaces) and the permit rules state 'Permit must represent vehicle type & lot assigned or denied entry', 'One entry per permit, only', 'No shuttling allowed', and no re-entry once you exit. Kentucky Exposition Center RV lot: no maximum length published, but tow trailers, trailers and car haulers are NOT permitted in the RV Lot and must be parked in approved lots (ask when booking, since lots vary by show). Campers must remain on their reserved site or may forfeit it with no refund. One hookup per paid electrical reservation, absolutely no piggybacking. No campfires or fire pits; grills allowed for cooking. Quiet hours after 10:00 p.m., which explicitly 'does not include generators for Dry Campers', so dry-camper generators may run past 10:00 p.m. Dogs must always be leashed and are not allowed in RV Lot buildings. Livestock always prohibited. Golf carts allowed. All access gates close at 11:00 p.m. EST; the RV lot office staffs 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EST and you must call (502) 367-5383 by 4 p.m. on your arrival day if arriving later. Do not park and plug in without the RV attendant. Certain shows carry minimum-night requirements (National Farm Machinery 4, KYANA Dog Show 4, MATS 3, NSRA 4); no Derby minimum is published.
Eligibility
No membership or club gate on Churchill Downs RV day parking. Real gates that will stop a newcomer: (1) onsite Churchill Downs parking is vehicle-type restricted and excludes RVs entirely; (2) KEC parking and the free shuttle are tied to FRONTSIDE tickets only, infield tickets are not accepted for KEC parking or the shuttle; (3) for 2027, KEC RV camping is waitlist-only, so a newcomer cannot buy a spot today at any price.
Worth knowing
onsale_datetime, lat and lon are intentionally omitted as null: no primary source states an on-sale moment (RV parking is pay-at-the-gate) and neither Churchill Downs' nor KEC's own pages publish coordinates, so a guessed coordinate would be a defect. KEC's stated address is 937 Phillips Ln., Louisville, KY 40209. Bottom line for a traveler: the Derby has no RV camping of its own. It has a $150 pay-at-the-gate RV day parking slot at a football stadium, and a genuinely good but currently waitlisted RV lot at the Kentucky Exposition Center that happens to sit where the free Derby shuttle runs. A KEC reservation also emails you a single-use parking pass to waive the KEC gate parking charge, plus a stay-long parking pass issued at check-in (one per site), though 'A parking pass will not be provided for your stay during shows that require admission at the entrance gates.' Note the kentuckyderby.com parking page still points its purchase link at Ticketmaster event code 25DWPark and its 'Vehicle Regulations' link at a partnership sales PDF titled Derby Week 2026, so treat any price or lot detail there as 2026-dated. Central Avenue was closed May 1-3 2026 and Churchill Downs directs route questions to kentuckyderbyparking.com.
Where this came from
partial

Curated stays within reach

Nothing in our curated list sits within a reasonable drive of this one yet. That is a gap we are filling, not a sign there is nowhere to stay. Ask the concierge and it will search live sources for you.

Ask the concierge

Want a heads up before this opens?

Tell us your rig and we will let you know in time to act.

We will only email you about drops. No list selling, no newsletter you did not ask for.