Editing Kentucky (section)

===Sports===

{{Main|Sports in Kentucky}}
{{more citations needed section|date=August 2014}}
[[File:University of Louisville marching band, Churchill Downs Twin Spires.jpg|thumb|Kentucky's [[Churchill Downs]] hosts the [[Kentucky Derby]].]]

Kentucky is the home of sports teams such as [[Minor League Baseball]]'s Triple-A [[Louisville Bats]] and High-A [[Bowling Green Hot Rods]]. It is home to the independent [[Atlantic League of Professional Baseball]]'s [[Lexington Legends]] and the [[Frontier League]]'s [[Florence Y'alls]]. The [[Lexington Horsemen]] and [[Louisville Fire]] of the now-defunct [[af2]] had been interested in making a move up to the "major league" [[Arena Football League]], but nothing has come of those plans.

The [[Northern Kentucky|northern part of the state]] lies across the [[Ohio River]] from Cincinnati, which is home to the [[National Football League]]'s [[Cincinnati Bengals]], [[Major League Baseball]]'s [[Cincinnati Reds]]. It is not uncommon for fans to park in the city of [[Newport, Kentucky|Newport]] and use the [[Newport Southbank Bridge|Newport Southbank Pedestrian Bridge]], locally known as the "Purple People Bridge", to walk to these games in Cincinnati. [[Georgetown College (Kentucky)|Georgetown College]] in [[Georgetown, Kentucky|Georgetown]] was the location for the Bengals' summer training camp, until it was announced in 2012 that the Bengals would no longer use the facilities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bengalscamp.com |title=About the camp |publisher=Georgetown College |access-date=December 18, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061205035939/http://bengalscamp.com/ |archive-date=December 5, 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

As in many states, especially those without major league professional sports teams, college athletics are prominent. This is especially true of the state's three Division{{spaces}}I [[Football Bowl Subdivision]] (FBS) programs, including the [[Kentucky Wildcats]], the [[Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers|Western Kentucky Hilltoppers]], and the [[Louisville Cardinals]]. The [[Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball|Wildcats]], [[Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball|Hilltoppers]], and [[Louisville Cardinals men's basketball|Cardinals]] are among the most tradition-rich college men's basketball teams in the United States, combining for 11 National Championships and 24 NCAA Final Fours;{{citation needed|date=August 2014}} all three are high on the lists of total all-time wins, wins per season, and average wins per season.{{citation needed|date=August 2014}} 
{{Multiple image
| image1            = Rupp Arena February 2020.jpg
| image2            = The-Yum-Center.jpg
| caption1          = 
| footer            = [[College Basketball]] enjoys significant popularity in Kentucky, with the [[University of Kentucky]]'s [[Rupp Arena]] (left), and the [[University of Louisville]]'s [[KFC Yum! Center]] (right) ranking 2nd and 3rd in capacity among college basketball arenas.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sequin |first=Molly |date=January 14, 2021 |title=9 biggest college basketball arenas {{!}} NCAA.com |url=https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2020-01-14/these-are-9-largest-arenas-college-basketball |access-date=2024-10-19 |website=NCAA.com |language=en}}</ref>
}}

The Kentucky Wildcats are particularly notable, leading all Division{{spaces}}I programs in all-time wins, win percentage, NCAA tournament appearances, and being second only to [[UCLA Bruins men's basketball|UCLA]] in NCAA championships.<ref>{{cite web|title=The college basketball teams with the most national championships {{!}} NCAA.com|url=https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2020-07-10/college-basketball-teams-most-national-championships|access-date=August 21, 2020|website=www.ncaa.com|archive-date=August 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808095842/https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2020-07-10/college-basketball-teams-most-national-championships|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Louisville Cardinals football|Louisville]] has stepped onto the football scene, including winning the [[2007 Orange Bowl]] as well as the 2013 Sugar Bowl, and producing [[2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season|2016]] Heisman Trophy winner [[Lamar Jackson]]. [[Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football|Western Kentucky]], the 2002 [[NCAA Division I Football Championship|national champion in Division{{spaces}}I-AA football]] (now [[Football Championship Subdivision]] (FCS)), completed its transition to Division{{spaces}}I FBS football in 2009.

The [[Kentucky Derby]] is a horse race held annually in Louisville on the first Saturday in May. The [[Valhalla Golf Club]] in Louisville has hosted several editions of the [[PGA Championship]], [[Senior PGA Championship]] and [[Ryder Cup]] since the 1990s.

The [[NASCAR Cup Series]] held a race at the [[Kentucky Speedway]] in [[Sparta, Kentucky]] from 2011 to 2020. The NASCAR [[Nationwide Series]] and the [[Camping World Truck Series]] raced there through 2020. The [[IndyCar Series]] previously raced there as well.

[[Ohio Valley Wrestling]] in Louisville was the primary location for training and rehab for [[WWE]] professional wrestlers from 2000 until 2008, when WWE moved its contracted talent to Florida Championship Wrestling. OVW later became the primary developmental territory for [[Total Nonstop Action Wrestling]] (TNA) from 2011 to 2013.

In 2014 [[Louisville City FC]], a professional soccer team in the league then known as USL Pro and now as the [[United Soccer League]], was announced. The team made its debut in 2015, playing home games at Louisville Slugger Field. In its first season, Louisville City was the official reserve side for [[Orlando City SC]], who made its debut in [[Major League Soccer]] at the same time. That arrangement ended in 2016 when Orlando City established a [[Orlando City B|directly controlled reserve side]] in the USL. In 2021, [[Lexington SC]] was founded as a professional soccer team out of Lexington, competing in [[USL League One]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 5, 2021 |title=United Soccer League Welcomes Lexington Pro Soccer as League One Expansion Club |url=https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1187030-united-soccer-league-welcomes-lexington-pro-soccer-as-league-one-expansion-club |access-date=October 22, 2022 |website=USLLeagueOne.com |language=en-us}}</ref> They played their home games at [[Toyota Stadium (Kentucky)|Toyota Stadium]] until construction on [[Lexington SC Stadium]] was completed in 2024. In 2025, they joined the [[USL Championship]] league.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1315914 |title=Lexington Sporting Club to join USL Championship for 2025 season |date=August 13, 2024 |website=USLLeagueOne.com |publisher=[[USL League One]] |access-date=August 13, 2024 |language=en-us}}</ref> The club has companion [[Lexington SC (women)|women's teams]] that compete in the [[USL W League]] and [[USL Super League]].