America celebrates its birthday in a little more than a week, and many of us will gather with our families and friends on the Fourth of July to maybe drink a couple beers, chow down on some burgers and dogs and shoot off a few fireworks.
In honor of the national holiday that takes place next Thursday, BetKentucky.com took a beat from Kentucky sports betting and wanted to learn which states were the most patriotic. We used Google Trends to find search data, and we ranked the states based on the search interest score for the term “4th of July” on queries placed between June 17-24.
Kentucky ended up on the winners’ podium, albeit as the bronze medalist.
Rank | State | Search Interest Score |
1 | Idaho | 100 |
2 | North Dakota | 96 |
3 | Kentucky | 94 |
4 | Iowa | 90 |
5 | Montana | 86 |
6 | Nebraska | 86 |
7 | South Dakota | 85 |
8 | Rhode Island | 82 |
9 | Colorado | 82 |
10 | Minnesota | 82 |
If grilling out is not part of your plans for the Fourth, then there are scores of ways to celebrate the holiday across the Bluegrass State. Famous songwriter Stephen Foster, who penned “My Old Kentucky Home,” was born on July 4, 1826. To commemorate both, the Stephen Foster Drama Association is holding a special performance of “The Stephen Foster Story” at My Old Kentucky Home State Park in Bardstown, with a fireworks display following the show.
Tickets are $27 and are still available at StephenFoster.com.
Bardstown is also the Bourbon Capital of the World, with many of Kentucky’s best bourbon producers located in or around the city located 45 minutes south of Louisville.
Those distilleries may be closed to celebrate the holiday, but there are plenty of restaurants in the area where you can get a taste of America’s native spirit that was born in Kentucky.
Of course, there will be fireworks shows across the state from Pikeville to Paducah and everywhere in between. For those who really want to be patriotic, check out the festivities taking place at both Fort Campbell and Fort Knox. Check the posts’ websites for more details.
Not only is July 4 Independence Day, but it’s also Opening Day for Ellis Park’s summer meet. The thoroughbred track in Henderson is scheduled to hold 25 race dates, with the season winding down on Aug. 26.
Ellis Park will hold races Thursday through Sunday during its first week. Cards after that are scheduled to run Saturdays through Mondays. The Western Kentucky track’s biggest race will be the Grade III Pucker Up on Aug. 4. The 1-1/8-mile turf race for 3-year-old fillies is part of the Kentucky Downs Preview weekend.
That event includes several turf stakes races featuring horses likely to run at the Franklin track, whose meet begins on Aug. 29.
USA Today photo by Marc Vasconcellos.
Author
Steve is an accomplished, award-winning reporter with more than 20 years of experience covering gaming, sports, politics and business. He has written for the Associated Press, Reuters, The Louisville Courier Journal, The Center Square and numerous other publications. Based in Louisville, Ky., Steve has covered the expansion of sports betting in the U.S. and other gaming matters.
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