A 150-Year-Old Ice Cream Maker Teams Up With America's Most Iconic Horse Race
There are certain things that just go together — bourbon and Kentucky, horses and Churchill Downs, springtime and the first Saturday in May. Now there's a new pairing to add to that list: Graeter's Ice Cream and the Kentucky Derby.
The Cincinnati-based ice cream institution, which has been handcrafting its product the same way since 1870, has officially partnered with Churchill Downs to release a limited-edition flavor called Backstretch Bourbon Cherry — and it carries full official licensing from the Kentucky Derby itself.
Image credit: Graeter's
It's not a gimmick. The flavor was developed by Graeter's with direct input from the Churchill Downs team, and it didn't take long to get approved. According to Richard Graeter, fourth-generation president and CEO of the company, the whole thing came together during a factory visit in Cincinnati late last year.
"We've long believed a collaboration between Graeter's and Churchill Downs was a natural fit," Graeter said. "When the Churchill Downs team visited Cincinnati late last year, they experienced our factory tour and tasted ice cream straight from our French Pots – and we introduced them to what is now Backstretch Bourbon Cherry. The flavor and name were developed by Graeter's with their input, and Churchill Downs approved it on the very first bite. From that moment, we knew we had a winning flavor."
What's in the Pint
Backstretch Bourbon Cherry isn't just a name designed to cash in on Derby season nostalgia. The flavor is built around a bourbon-kissed base — the kind of subtle, warm undercurrent that doesn't try too hard — folded together with black cherries and pralines. It's rich without being overwhelming, and it's exactly the kind of thing that works whether you're hosting a Derby party or just looking for something worth cracking open on a Friday night.
The combination leans into everything Kentucky represents: the bourbon, the tradition, the sense that some things are worth doing properly. Graeter's has been doing things properly for over 150 years, and the French Pot process — a method the company claims to be the only operation in the world still using at scale — is central to why the ice cream lands differently than what most people are used to grabbing off a grocery shelf.
The French Pot method produces ice cream in small batches, churning slowly and incorporating less air than standard commercial production. The result is a denser, richer scoop that the company has built its entire reputation on. Pairing that with a bourbon-cherry-praline profile and the Kentucky Derby name is a statement of intent.
Where to Get It
Backstretch Bourbon Cherry went on sale April 13 through Graeters.com for nationwide shipping. For those who prefer to shop local, the flavor is available by the pint and by the scoop at all Graeter's retail locations — the company operates more than 50 scoop shops.
Starting April 15, grocery store shoppers can also find it on shelves at select retailers including Kroger locations across Ohio, Kentucky and Indianapolis, Dorothy Lane Markets, Jungle Jim's and Central Market in Texas.
The Off to the Races Collection
Graeter's isn't stopping at a single pint. For Derby weekend, the company has put together a set of curated bundles under the banner of its "Off to the Races" Collection, available for purchase online and clearly built for anyone planning to make a proper occasion out of race day.
The first option is the Backstretch Six-Pint Pack. It leads with two pints of the new Backstretch Bourbon Cherry alongside one pint each of Madagascar Vanilla, Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip, Mint Chocolate Chip and Salted Caramel. It's a solid spread that gives people a taste of the new flavor without abandoning the classics.
The second option is the Winner's Circle Six-Pint Pack, and this one comes with an extra layer. In addition to two pints of Bourbon Ball and one each of the same rotating classics — Madagascar Vanilla, Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip, Mint Chocolate Chip and Salted Caramel — the bundle includes a Kern's Derby Pie. For those who aren't familiar, Kern's Kitchen Derby Pie is the official pie of the Kentucky Derby Festival, and it's been around long enough to carry genuine credibility in Louisville.
The third option goes a different direction entirely. The Trifecta Chip Wheelies Pack is built around Graeter's signature ice cream sandwiches. The pack includes four Backstretch Bourbon Cherry sandwiches pressed between two handmade sugar cookies, plus four Vanilla Chocolate Chip sandwiches and four Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip sandwiches, both served between handmade chocolate chip cookies. Twelve ice cream sandwiches total, three different flavor combinations — the math works for a group.
Free Ice Cream for a Year
Graeter's is also running a giveaway tied directly to the Derby partnership, and it doesn't require a purchase to enter. One winner receives a free Create-Your-Own Six-Pint Pack every month from May 2026 through April 2027 — twelve months of ice cream, twelve chances to pick whatever combination of flavors they want. Five runners-up each receive a single free six-pint pack.
To enter, fans can submit their name, contact information and birthday at Graeters.com/Derby between now and 11:59 p.m. ET on Derby Day, May 2, 2026. The sweepstakes is open to legal residents of the 48 contiguous United States and Washington D.C., age 18 and older.
At Churchill Downs on Race Day
The collaboration moves beyond grocery stores and shipping boxes for the actual race weekend. On May 1 and 2, 2026 — Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby — a Graeter's Ice Cream Truck will be making its official debut at Churchill Downs. The truck will be stationed near the Clubhouse Gate entrance and is open to all ticketed guests attending either day's races.
The truck will be serving Backstretch Bourbon Cherry alongside Graeter's Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip, one of the brand's most recognized flavors, plus additional staples from the lineup.
Inside the venue, Churchill Downs will also be serving Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip and Backstretch Bourbon Cherry in select suites and dining areas throughout the weekend. That means whether someone is in the grandstands or watching from a premium seat, there's a reasonable chance of running into a Graeter's scoop somewhere on the property.
The Bigger Picture
This partnership makes more sense the longer you think about it. Graeter's is a Cincinnati institution with deep roots in the Ohio River Valley region that's always had strong cultural ties to Kentucky and the Derby. The company has been family-owned across five generations, has more than 3,000 grocery store points of distribution across the United States and ships more than 300,000 pints annually. It's not a boutique brand looking to punch above its weight — it's a genuine American success story that's managed to stay family-run and handcraft-focused while scaling.
Churchill Downs, meanwhile, has operated continuously since 1875 and oversees the longest continually held major annual sporting event in the country. The 152nd Kentucky Derby is scheduled for May 2, 2026, with a $5 million purse. The race covers one and a quarter miles and is restricted to three-year-old Thoroughbreds — the same parameters it's always had. "The Run for the Roses" and "The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports" are phrases that've stuck around because they're accurate.
Pairing a 150-plus-year-old ice cream company with a 150-plus-year-old horse race and landing on a bourbon-cherry-praline flavor isn't a stretch. It's the kind of collaboration that looks obvious in retrospect.
Backstretch Bourbon Cherry is available now. Derby Day is May 2. The giveaway closes that night. For anyone who's been waiting for a reason to pay attention to ice cream this spring, this is probably it.
