Look live: 2025 Great Steamboat race

Louisville, Ky. (Wave) -The 62. Annual Shepherd Insurance Great Steamboat Race sets sail tonight. Join Wave and watch the annual river rivality from 6 p.m.

Louisville's Belle broke out of the great Steamboat race on Tuesday after the Kentucky Derby Festival explained that a leak was found during an inspection. The leak prevents the bark from being able to carry enough fuel for the race.

The Belle sister ship, Mary M. Miller, will take her place on Wednesday, April 30, in the annual showdown against the Belle of Cincinnati. The boat is named after Mary Millicent Miller, who was born in Louisville and the first licensed female steamboat captain in the USA

“The Shepherd Insurance Great Steamboat Race is a derby week tradition, and the race will go on!” said Matt Gibson, President and CEO of the Kentucky Derby Festival. “We will miss the Belle of Louisville to see down the river, but we know that your crew has shared all the strategies of profit with Mary M. Miller to win the silver antlers for the city.”

“The Mary M. Miller may look small, but it has a lot of horsepower,” said Krista Snider, Chief Executive Officer from Belle of Louisville Riverboats. “If this were a horse race, I would bet on Mary.”

The Mary M. Miller and Belle of Cincinnati will drive the 14-mile course on the Ohio River, which begins and ends on the Clark Memorial Bridge. The winner is presented with the set of 12-point silver consecration at the after-race ceremony.

Six other boats started and won the race: Delta Queen, Belle from Louisville, Julia Belle Swain, Natchez, Spirit of Jefferson and Belle from Cincinnati. The spirit of Jefferson fulfilled itself for the racing of Belle of Louisville from 1999, after a hole was discovered in the boiler system of the Belle Kessel, said KDF.

The messenger for the Great Steamboat Race takes place from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., with all boats running on the shore at 5:45 p.m. for a start at 6 p.m. The award ceremony takes place immediately after the Belle of Louisville. Ticket data can be found from Click here.

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