Second Time a Charm for Saturday Balloon Race
- Author:KDF Press Office
- Date Published:04/26/2008
It was a perfect afternoon for ballooning according to George Troutman, Launch Director for the 36th annual U.S. Bank Great Balloon Race. Clear, blue skies and winds 6-9 mph enabled 47 balloons to take off in one of the Derby Festival's marquee events. The beautiful weather also encouraged a crowd of hundreds of balloon fans who watched the competition get underway just after 6 p.m. tonight at the Kentucky Exposition Center.
The hare balloon (U.S. Bank) landed in a field off Fern Valley Road, just west of old Shepherdsville Road about 45 minutes after launching. Some of the hound balloons chased the hare for up to an hour and 20 minutes before landing. U.S. Bank landed and laid out a giant "X" for a target. Winds were changing during the race, permitting only four of the 46 chase balloons to drop their bag of Kentucky bluegrass seed within 200 feet of the target.
PLACE BALLOON PILOT DISTANCE
FIRST Mike's Udder Delight Mike Ehrler 50'
SECOND State Farm Insurance Marsha Tracey 82'6"
THIRD Sam's Club Dale Dommer 106'4"
FOURTH Ford Motor Company U.A.W. Ray Donner 144'
The purse for Saturday's race is worth $2500 for the pilots. The Ford Motor Company, U.A.W. balloon, piloted by Ray Donner, was named Overall winner of the U.S. Bank Great BalloonFest based on a combination of point s from both Friday and Saturday's races. Donner wins a complimentary entry for Ford Motor Company U.A.W in the 2009 U.S. Bank Derby Festival Great BalloonFest.
This was the fifth of five ballooning events that are part of the U.S. Bank Great BalloonFest, which kicked off on Thursday with the U.S. Bank Great Balloon Tour and Glimmer, followed by the U.S. Bank Great Rush Hour Race and Great Balloon Glow on Friday. The race was sponsored by U.S. Bank. The Hare balloon was piloted by Scott McClinton.
The Derby Festival balloon events remain one of Louisville's favorite family traditions. The race is regarded by pilots as one of the country's most prestigious balloon events and began in 1973 with nine balloons flying in the inaugural launch from Iroquois Park.
