The Buffalo Trace Balloon Race committee (along with the Balloonmeister) will decide which races the balloons will participate in. Here are some of the most common:
The Hare and Hound : This is a classic balloon race! The Hare balloon launches before the others. Several minutes later, the Hounds (the rest of the balloons) take off chasing the Hare. The Hare will land and place a marker on the ground. The Hounds then float over and drop beanbags (with the pilot's initials) trying to get closest to the marker. Each balloon only gets one beanbag. The closest to the marker is the winner.
Splash & Dash: Balloonists will drop into a targeted water area (lake, river or pond), dip the bottom of the balloon basket into the water, ascend and fly off. A variation to this, is anchoring a ring (hula-hoop size) into a body of water. The pilots are given a floatable object with their initials on it. The pilots who get their object inside the ring, wins a prize.
The Key Grab: This is a true test of a pilot's flying skills. Balloonists take off from the same location and fly towards a pre-designated location within the flight path. The balloonists (or their passengers) have the goal of grabbing a key that is on top of a twenty foot pole. The balloonist that grabs the key is the winner and usually gets cash or a prize.
Ribbon Tie: In pairs, the balloons launch from the same location. They are connected by a 75 feet crepe paper ribbon. Whichever team that keeps the ribbon intact the longest wins.
Scavenger Hunt: The pilots are given a camera and a list of items that they need to get a picture of. They are given a certain time limit to take as many pictures as they can. Once the time limit has elapsed, the balloons must land and return back to the launching site. Cameras are then returned to the judges to review.