Shows

Kentucky State Fair history encompasses Kentucky’s growth and change in communication, transportation, technology and popular culture. Fair history reflects the challenges we have faced over the past century: to fight war and disease, to shift from rural toward increasingly more urban, to advance human rights and to grow more prosperous. The Fair has become the training ground, the testing site, and the public showcase for the Commonwealth’s progress. To borrow a promotional phrase used throughout the early decades of Fair history, the Fair is Kentucky Proud.

The exciting and prestigious World’s Championship Horse Show is held annually in conjunction with the Kentucky State Fair and crowns world champion Saddlebreds in different divisions. The show attracts competitors from across the world and includes over 2,000 horses competing for more than $1 million in awards determined by a panel of equestrian professionals.

The Kentucky Exposition Center is filled with more than 900 exhibiting companies, making it the country’s largest indoor farm show. Nearly every major line of farming equipment will be on display allowing attendees to compare products side by side. The most innovative technology and new product launches are available to agribusiness professionals, as well as alternative energy information and solutions to the challenges facing today’s agribusiness industry.

The Championship Tractor Pull was so popular in its first year that 15 drivers signed up to compete in the inaugural pull before it was officially established. Today the pull remains a complement to the much larger National Farm Machinery Show and has since transformed into a premiere event of its own. Each year, a short list of pullers etch their names in history as they become part of an elite group of drivers earning a national championship title. With more than 75,000 fans packing Freedom Hall to experience five pulse-pounding performances in four days, the nation’s longest running indoor tractor pull has a vivid history to share with its loyal supporters.

The North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE) is the largest all-breed, purebred livestock event in the world, with 10 livestock divisions and nearly 30,000 entries from the 48 contiguous states — all under one roof. Countless exhibitors and visitors attend each year.

Get ready to see dirt fly when bulls roar out of the gate as cowboys try to hang on for 8 seconds. The ones that do walk away with prize money, a gold belt buckle and a chance to compete in the Great Lakes Circuit Finals Rodeo.