LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Run for the Roses™ may be more than five months away, but Churchill Downs and the James Graham Brown Cancer Center at the University of Louisville are at work now to create an exciting weekend of entertainment.
The Julep Ball, the premier Derby Eve Party with a Purpose, is proud to announce it has partnered with Churchill Downs as an Official Event of the 140th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands. “We are proud to align our brand with this great event that celebrates the Kentucky Derby and simultaneously raises money and awareness to fight cancer,” said Churchill Downs’ Vice President of Marketing & Brand Development Jeff Koleba. Keeping with tradition, the Julep Ball will be held the night before the Kentucky Derby, on Friday, May 2, 2014, at the KFC Yum! Center.
“We are thrilled to establish The Julep Ball as an Official Kentucky Derby Event,” said Sarah Mitchell, director of The Julep Ball. “The support for the Ball from Churchill Downs will be a great asset in promoting all we have to offer to Derby patrons.”
Long established as setting the standard for Derby-related galas, The Julep Ball provides a celebrity-studded night to remember with a multi-course seated dinner, a knock-your-socks-off auction, multiple open specialty bars, complimentary valet parking, and dancing until the wee hours of Derby morning.
This is the second year that The Julep Ball calls the Yum! Center home, taking advantage of the venue’s cutting-edge technical and staging capabilities. “Our first year in the Yum! Center was a huge success, and we have returned to the venue that can best showcase all the events and entertainment that make up The Julep Ball,” said Michael Neumann, executive director of development at the cancer center.
As big a party as The Julep Ball is, it has an even bigger purpose: to support the clinicians, researchers and patients of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center at the University of Louisville.
“Kentucky is a beautiful state, a wonderful state, but we still have a major problem with cancer in Kentucky,” Donald Miller, M.D., director of the Brown Cancer Center, said. “Supporters of The Julep Ball help us advance the war on cancer and better meet the needs of our patients and their families. We cannot thank our volunteers and supporters enough for what they help make possible.”
The 2014 Julep Ball will again feature all the fun and excitement of past years – with a few new surprises being planned. Once again, party-goers should come dressed ready to party in cocktail attire, which means attendees are welcome to come straight from the track.
Local and national business leaders, horse industry professionals and celebrities from sports, music, cinema and television again will be on hand. The celebrity red carpet entrance will return, as will dancing throughout the evening. Special moments of The Julep Ball again will come when the physicians, scientists and most importantly, patients at the forefront of cancer treatment and delivery are honored and saluted for their efforts.
The event sells out early each year, Mitchell said, so party-goers should get their tickets now. The full evening’s entertainment is $600 per person, $5,000 for a table of 10, and $100 per person for dance-only tickets. For further information and to buy tickets, go to The Julep Ball website, julepball.org.
About the James Graham Brown Cancer Center:
The James Graham Brown Cancer Center is a key component of the University of Louisville Health Sciences Center. As part of the region’s leading academic, research and teaching health center, the cancer center provides the latest medical advances to patients, often long before they become available in non-teaching settings. The JGBCC is a part of KentuckyOne Health and is affiliated with the Kentucky Cancer Program. It is the only cancer center in the region to use a unified approach to cancer care, with multidisciplinary teams of physicians working together to guide patients through diagnosis, treatment and recovery. For more information, visit our web site, www.browncancercenter.org.
About Churchill Downs:
Churchill Downs, the world’s most legendary racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America’s greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ: CHDN) also operates Trackside at Churchill Downs, which offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs will conduct the 140th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands on May 3, 2014. The track’s Fall Meet will run from Oct. 27-Nov. 30. The track has hosted the Breeders’ Cup World Championships a record eight times. Information about Churchill Downs can be found on the Internet at www.ChurchillDowns.com.