Kentucky Derby Festival

They're Off! Luncheon



Sam ChampionGood Morning America Weather Anchor Sam Champion will be the guest speaker for the 55th annual They’re Off! Luncheon on Friday, April 15. Champion will address more than 1,800 Festival supporters and patrons in attendance for this grand community tradition, which begins at 11:30 a.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Galt House East Hotel, site of the festive event since 1974.

First held in 1957, the second year of the Derby Festival, the They're Off! Luncheon serves as the time-honored kickoff to each year's Festival. Sam Champion joins GMA co-host Robin Roberts, Dick Vitale, Terry Bradshaw, Greg Gumbel, Larry King,  Cawood Ledford, Phil Simms and Howard Cosell in a long list of luminaries who have entertained They're Off! Luncheon audiences for the past 53 years.

Sam Champion is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Broadcast News while interning at WKYT-TV in Lexington. Prior to joining WABC-TV in New York City, he was a weekend weather anchor and news reporter at WPSD-TV in Paducah, Ky. Champion joined ABC News in September, 2006, where he has covered weather and environmental stories, including a 20/20 special chronicling the tornado that devastated Parkersburg, Iowa, in 2008, and the Deep Water Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year.

Champion is now part of a long list of sports figures, broadcasters, legends and motivators who have entertained They're Off! Luncheon audiences for more than 50 years. Other past Luncheon speakers have included James Earl Jones, Bill Walton, Rick Pitino, Denny Crum, Hank Aaron, Bob Costas, George Plimpton, Dan Jansen, Al McGuire, Phil Simms, Mike Ditka and Bettina Gregory.

Also at the luncheon is the presentation of the Silver Horseshoe Award, given annually to a group or individual who has made significant contributions to the Thoroughbred racing industry/service to the community.

The 2010 Silver Horseshoe Award was given to the Kentucky Derby Museum, which suffered devastating flooding in August of 2009.  The award was accepted by Lynn Ashton, Executive Director of the museum. The Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation - the Derby Festival's charitable arm - presented a check for $1,000 to the museum.