Kentucky Trivia
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118 free Kentucky trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
65 free Kentucky trivia questions with answers. This Kentucky trivia quiz gathers the facts that make the Bluegrass State unlike anywhere else: the state that makes 95 percent of the world's bourbon, runs the oldest continuously held race in the Triple Crown, sits on the longest cave system on Earth, guards half the country's gold at Fort Knox and produced both presidents of the Civil War, plus Muhammad Ali, Bill Monroe, Loretta Lynn and the Louisville Slugger. The questions run from easy (the capital, the state bird, when the Derby is run) through the traditions (mint juleps, the Hot Brown, Ale-8-One, the Corvette plant) to the details even Kentuckians argue over: why the Kentucky Bend is cut off from the rest of the state, which town calls itself Quilt City, and where the first cheeseburger and Old Fashioned are claimed. It works for a classroom unit, a Derby party round or a family road trip through the commonwealth. Every answer has been checked against Wikipedia and Kentucky's own state records, and each question shows its source once you have answered.
30 of 118 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What is the capital of Kentucky?
Frankfort
Frankfort has been the capital since Kentucky's statehood in 1792; with roughly 28,000 residents it is among the smallest state capitals, far smaller than Louisville or Lexington.
Q 02Kentucky's capital city takes its name from what 1780 incident?
A ford where pioneer Stephen Frank was killed
The crossing was called Frank's Ford in his memory, and the name wore down to Frankfort.
Q 03Kentucky was admitted to the Union on June 1, 1792, as which state in order?
15th
Kentucky became the 15th state on June 1, 1792; Congress had passed its admission act in February 1791, two weeks before Vermont's, but Vermont entered first as the 14th.
Q 04Before statehood, Kentucky was part of which state?
Virginia
Kentucky was Virginia's western district, organized as Kentucky County in 1776; ten statehood conventions met at Danville between 1784 and 1792 before Virginia consented to separation.
Q 05Kentucky's nickname, the Bluegrass State, refers to a grass that was what?
Introduced by European settlers
Kentucky bluegrass, Poa pratensis, was introduced by European settlers; it is native to Europe and northern Asia and spread across the region's limestone soils, giving the Bluegrass its name.
Q 06What is Kentucky's official English-language state motto?
United we stand, divided we fall
'United we stand, divided we fall' has appeared on Kentucky's seal since 1792; in 2002 the legislature added a Latin motto, Deo gratiam habeamus, 'let us be grateful to God'.
Q 07The two men shaking hands on Kentucky's state seal symbolise what?
Unity of frontiersmen and statesmen
They stand for the unity of frontiersmen and statesmen; legend names them Daniel Boone and Henry Clay, but the 1792 seal law described only 'two friends embracing'.
Q 08Kentucky's flag has a navy field with the state seal above sprigs of which state flower?
Goldenrod
Sprigs of goldenrod, the state flower, flank the seal on the flag; art teacher Jesse Cox Burgess designed it and the legislature adopted it in 1918.
Q 09What is Kentucky's state bird?
Cardinal
The northern cardinal became Kentucky's state bird in 1926; it is the most popular state bird in the country, shared with six other states.
Q 10Kentucky is one of only four US states that officially call themselves what?
A commonwealth
Kentucky calls itself a commonwealth, a title it shares with only Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and one other state; the word signals government for the common good and has no distinct legal status.
Q 11How many counties does Kentucky have?
120
Kentucky has 120 counties, more than any state except Texas and Georgia; Jefferson County, merged with Louisville Metro, is the most populous and Pike County the largest by area.
Q 12Kentucky's northern border is defined by which river?
Ohio
The Ohio River forms Kentucky's whole northern boundary with Illinois, Indiana and Ohio; the Supreme Court fixed the line at the river's northern low-water mark as it stood in 1792.
Q 13How many states border Kentucky?
Seven
Seven states border Kentucky; only Missouri and Tennessee, each with eight neighbours, touch more, and Kentucky's entire boundary with Missouri is a river line.
Q 21The Kentucky Derby is run on the first Saturday of which month?
May
The Derby is run on the first Saturday in May, opening the Triple Crown; it has been held every year since it began, though 1945 and 2020 were postponed to June and September.
Q 22The Kentucky Derby is nicknamed the Run for the Roses because of what?
The winning horse is draped in a blanket of them
The winning horse is draped in a blanket of 554 red roses; New York columnist Bill Corum coined the nickname in 1925, and roses were first presented to a Derby winner in 1896.
Q 23Which drink is the traditional beverage of the Kentucky Derby?
Mint julep
Q 14The Kentucky Bend, surrounded by Missouri and Tennessee, exists because of what?
A surveying error
A surveying error in fixing the 36°30' Kentucky-Tennessee line, combined with a tight loop of the river, left this pocket attached to Kentucky; it is reachable by road only through Tennessee.
Q 15Mammoth Cave in Kentucky is notable as the world's what?
Longest known system of passages
Mammoth Cave is the longest known system of passages in the world, with more than 400 miles surveyed, well ahead of the runner-up, Sistema Sac Actun in Mexico.
Q 16In 1842-43 the owner of Mammoth Cave ran what inside the cave, believing its vapours would heal patients?
A tuberculosis hospital
Owner Dr. John Croghan ran a tuberculosis hospital of stone huts inside the cave in 1842-43; several patients died there, and Croghan himself died of the disease in 1849.
Q 17Cumberland Falls in Kentucky claims to be the only place in the Western Hemisphere where what is regularly seen?
A moonbow
A moonbow, or lunar rainbow, forms in the falls' mist on clear nights around the full moon; the 68-foot falls on the Cumberland River are nicknamed the Niagara of the South.
Q 18Kentucky produces roughly what share of the world's bourbon?
95%
Kentucky makes about 95% of the world's bourbon, by the Kentucky Distillers' Association's count; the barrels ageing in its warehouses outnumber the state's roughly 4.5 million people.
Q 19By US law, bourbon must be made from a grain mixture that is at least what percentage corn?
51%
Federal rules require a mash of at least 51% corn, ageing in new charred oak containers and distillation to no more than 160 proof; Congress declared bourbon a distinctive US product in 1964.
Q 20Maker's Mark bourbon, made in Loretto, Kentucky, is instantly recognisable by what feature of its bottle?
A wax seal, dipped in red
Each bottle gets a wax seal, dipped in red by hand, a touch Margie Samuels devised for the first run in 1958; the dripping red wax is a registered trademark.
The mint julep, bourbon with mint and sugar syrup over crushed ice in a frosted silver cup, has been the Derby's official drink since 1938; Churchill Downs serves about 120,000 each Derby weekend.
Q 24Which horse set the Kentucky Derby record of 1:59.4 in 1973?
Secretariat
Secretariat ran each successive quarter-mile faster than the last, finishing in 1:59 2/5, the only sub-two-minute Derby until Monarchos ran 1:59.97 in 2001.
Q 25Churchill Downs has hosted the Kentucky Derby since the track opened in which year?
1875
The track opened in 1875 and ran the first Derby that spring, won by Aristides; with the infield open, the grounds have held more than 170,000 on Derby day.
Q 26Lexington, Kentucky, calls itself the capital of the world for what?
Horses
Hundreds of horse farms surround the city, plus Keeneland, the Red Mile and the Kentucky Horse Park.
Q 27Louisville, Kentucky, was named in 1780 in honour of which monarch?
Louis XVI of France
The town was chartered in 1780 and named for Louis XVI of France, whose country had allied with the rebelling colonies in 1778; George Rogers Clark had founded the settlement two years earlier.
Q 28The Louisville Slugger traces its origin to an 1884 bat hand-made for which slumping Louisville Eclipse star?
Pete Browning
Company legend says 17-year-old Bud Hillerich made the bat in his father's woodworking shop and Browning got three hits with it the next day.
Q 29Which boxer was born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in Louisville in 1942?
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali, who changed his name in 1964 after joining the Nation of Islam, took up boxing at 12 when policeman Joe Martin told the boy fuming over a stolen bicycle to learn to fight first.
Q 30Near which Kentucky town was Abraham Lincoln born in 1809?
Hodgenville
Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, at Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville; Jefferson Davis, his Confederate counterpart, had been born about 100 miles away in Fairview eight months earlier.