A new Louisville company called Party Horses LLC is changing the Derby game by merging the longest-running sporting event in the US with the virtual world of Web3.

The company plans to launch a collection of 10,000 NFTs — or nonfungible tokens — a unit of currency that can’t be exchanged or duplicated + are part of an online database referred to as blockchain (Web3), which records how cryptocurrency like Bitcoin is sold and bought.

There are 50 different accessories that are put through an algorithm to decide each horse's rarity. | Image by Robby Davis

NFTs are measured in digital visual assets — in this case accessorized cartoon horses designed by Louisville artist Robby Davis. The neat part is that the ownership of tokens can be traced + verified (think what a deed is to a house).

Party Horses ain’t horsin’ around either. Its NFTs will have real world benefits like access to rare bottles of bourbon + exclusive parties.

So how do you saddle up? Let’s take a trip around the track.

Half of the NFTs will have female traits in a response to the lack of women in the NFT world. | Image by Robby Davis

There are five categories of Party Horses that will be available based on their rarity and they’re named after some pretty familiar track terms — Infield, Paddock, Backside, Turf Club + Trillionaire’s Row. The latter being the rarest of the bunch with only 400-500 available.

And that’s not all.

Party Horse will have 2,000 pre-game NFTs named after Derby drinks — Lilly, Champagne, Mint Julep, Neat + Old Fashioned — that will launch on Mar. 1. These NFTs will come with guaranteed early access to purchase Party Horses before the public mint on Mar. 15 at noon.

Speaking of Mar. 15, the first 1,000 Party Horse buyers will take home — in the real world — a bottle of bourbon. Another 450 holders will be invited to an exclusive Oaks Night event — planned by the J Wagner Group — at the Ice House downtown that promises big name artists.

Party Horses’ NFTs will be available for purchase on its website + secondary markets.

Until the party starts, you can register for whitelist access here.