The Travers Celebration will return for its tenth year to honor 2009 Travers
champion Summer Bird on Thursday, August 26, just two-days before the running
of the 141st edition of the Grade 1, $1 million Travers Stakes.
With approximately $100,000 raised each year during
the event, the Travers Celebration expects to celebrate its 10th
anniversary by reaching the milestone donation total of $1 million for the
Backstretch Employee Service Team (B.E.S.T.), the Double H Ranch and other
prominent local charities.
The Travers Celebration will feature an elaborate cocktail reception,
dinner, dancing to live music from Times Square Orchestra, and a silent
auction. The event gets underway at 7:30 p.m. with trackside cocktails,
followed by dinner at 8:30 p.m. “At the Rail”.
In addition to serving as an official corporate
partner of The New York Racing Association during the 2010 meet at Saratoga
Race Course, Northeastern Fine Jewelry will be the official jeweler of this
year’s Travers Celebration. Northeastern Fine Jewelry will feature a
collection of signature pieces from top Hollywood
bridal and fashion jewelry designer Simon G.
Simon
G Jewelry has become the jewelry of choice on the red carpet for many
celebrities including the Kardashian Family of the hit reality television
series Keeping Up with the Kardashians and
television and film star Jennifer Love Hewitt. The line received particular
attention for the five-carat yellow
diamond engagement ring that actor Jerry McConnell presented to actress Rebecca
Romijn in 2005.
Northeastern Fine Jewelry
will donate 10 percent of all jewelry sales on track to the Travers Celebration
and its beneficiaries: B.E.S.T. and the Double H Ranch for critically and
chronically ill children.
Travers Celebration guests will have an opportunity to
bid on an extensive selection of premier silent auction items, including:
·
A prized piece from Simon G Jewelry’s latest line, the
Simon Set, which features an invisible style setting for diamonds, courtesy of
Northeastern Fine Jewelry.
·
A private dinner and wine pairing
for 10 at Prime at Saratoga National, courtesy of renowned restaurateur Angelo
Mazzone and the Mazzone Management Group.
·
A $500 gift card from
Dunkin’ Donuts which is redeemable at any participating Dunkin’
Donuts location.
·
Original artwork by local artist
Tom Myott, often seen creating his famed Saratoga-inspired paintings outdoors
during the summer months.
·
An original signed recording of Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid by
actors Paul Newman, Robert Redford
and singer-composer Burt Bacharach; plus an original signed recording of The Sting by Newman and Redford.
·
Two nights in a suite at the
Excalibur Hotel and Casino in Las
Vegas.
In addition to honoring Summer Bird, the Travers
Celebration will celebrate its connections: owners Drs. Kalarikkal K. & Vilasini D. Jayaraman; trainer Tim
Ice; and jockey Kent Desormeaux.
The Travers Celebration is co-chaired by Betsy Senior
and Ed Lewi. Senior is co-owner of Senior & Shopmaker Gallery in Manhattan and wife of NYRA President and CEO Charlie
Hayward; Lewi is the former president and founder of Ed Lewi Associates, a
public relations firm headquartered in Clifton
Park, NY.
The Travers Celebration is sponsored by NYRA and
USFoodService.
Tickets are $300 per person or $3,000 for a table of
10.
For ticket and table information, please contact Amanda Lecce at 518-584-6200, ext. 4233.
The 141st edition of the Grade 1, $1
million Travers Stakes will be run on Saturday, August 28.