LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Mary M. Miller won the Kentucky Derby Festival's 62nd Great Steamboat Race, reclaiming the coveted Silver Antlers for Louisville in her first time participating in the annual race.
The Mary M. Miller, now the queen of the river, went head-to-head with the Belle of Cincinnati in Wednesday evening's race on the Ohio River.
The Belle of Louisville scratched from the race after a leak was found in an "internal bulkhead seam" on the boat during a final inspection Tuesday. The Mary M. Miller, the Belle's sister vessel, was tagged in to take her place.
"The Mary M. Miller may be small, but she showed us she has a lot of horsepower in her first time competing in this decades-old tradition," Matt Gibson, president and CEO of the Kentucky Derby Festival, said in a statement.
The Mary M. Miller and Belle of Cincinnati raced 14 miles on the Ohio River, starting and finishing at the Clark Memorial/Second Street Bridge for the 12-point Silver Antlers.
KDF said the Mary got off to an early lead at the start of the race, and crossed the finish line first. The captain of the Belle of Cincinnati was given a miniature set of the silver antlers on a plaque engraved with the word "loser" for coming in second place.
The diesel-powered, twin engine Mary M. Miller was built in 1985 in Utica, Indiana. The vessel was named after Mary Millicent Miller, the first licensed female steamboat captain in the country, who was born in Louisville.
The Belle of Cincinnati won the race last year, and the Belle of Louisville the year before that. The race has been a staple of the Derby festival since 1963.
More Kentucky Derby Coverage:
Kentucky Derby 151 guide to everything you need to know for Oaks and Derby Days
Louisville police urge Kentucky Derby partiers to plan ahead, don’t drink and drive
Lawn parking by Churchill Downs a profitable annual boost for neighbors
Churchill Downs celebrates Louisville community on 502'sDay to kick off Derby week
103-year-old Wagner’s Pharmacy bustling again on Kentucky Derby week
Kentucky Derby Notebook: Japanese horses work, Journalism jogs, Sandman settles
Coffee with Crawford | Why the Kentucky Derby walkover still stirs the soul
Did you know? Here are 25 fascinating facts about the Kentucky Derby
Copyright 2025 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
