From their seats in the beautiful Villa at the Vineyard in Driftwood, more than 200 Derby Day guests watched as three-year-old Golden Tempo, a longshot with 23-to-1 odds, came from dead last to win the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville.
Yet that thrill was eclipsed by an announcement following the live auction from KWVH’s General Manager Tim Kiesling, “In a growing partnership between the station and Wimberley philanthropists Jerry and Tricia Fields, the fishbowl studios on Old Kyle Rd. will now be named after the couple. The station will now broadcast from the Jerry and Tricia Fields studios.”
During the high profile event, local race enthusiasts in traditional Kentucky Derby dress enjoyed a lavish buffet with roaming servers, traditional mint juleps, Champagne and other libations at the radio station’s major fundraiser of the year.
Ticketholders participated in bourbon tasting and billiards, both silent and live auctions, a rousing heads or tails Blinky bracelet showdown and Race One and Two raffles prior to the final “Run for the Roses.”
Arriving guests posed with “Bling,” a horse owned by Leslie Laws, wearing a garland of roses. Fortunately for Bling, the garland was much lighter than the authentic Churchill Downs Garland of Roses weighing in at a hefty 40 pounds.
In further serendipity and good fortune, Cade Wright won the $2,000 “Run for the Roses” drawing and promptly donated it back to KWVH. Winners of the first and second race drawings were Patricia Bradshaw and John Rodgers, respectively.
Sponsors of the event were Ozona Bank, the Lind Family; Joe and Jen Gambino of Double J Ranch Golf Club; Bright Light Marriage and Family Therapy, Level One Staffing Solutions; Wimberley Valley Dental; Eckols State Farm Insurance; the Funk Sway Hour; Friends of the Derby; Terese and Gary Wagner; Sunny Fox Farms; Howdy Social; Attendee Management; and photographer Karen Hensley.
