A new paddle-wheeler joins the lineup for the 2018 Great Steamboat Race in Kentucky
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Two Belles and a Duchess will battle for bragging rights next month when the Great Steamboat Race takes place in Louisville, Ky., during the Kentucky Derby Festival.
The two-week annual festival with more than 70 events begins April 14 and precedes the famous horse race scheduled for May 5 at Churchill Downs Racetrack.
On May 2, a race of a different type will take place on the Ohio River when the Great Steamboat Race pits three massive steamboats against one another. The Belle of Louisville and the Belle of Cincinnati are longtime competitors in this race. For the first time a third boat, the American Duchess, will compete.
The U.S.-flagged Duchess, the first all-suite paddle-wheeler in the nation, was built by the American Queen Steamboat Co. and debuted on the Mississippi River last August.
The race has been held annually since 1963, covering a 14-mile course that starts and finishes at Clark Memorial Bridge on the Ohio River.
Fans can watch the race from shore, or buy tickets to watch from the Belle of Louisville [$150 each, (502) 584-3378, www.KDF.org] or Belle of Cincinnati [$60-$95, (800) 261-8586, www.BBRiverboats.com].
Info: American Duchess, (888) 749-5280, or contact a travel agent
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