Keeneland hosts commemorative bourbon bottle signing
University of Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari will sign commemorative bottles of Maker's Mark for die-hard UK fans at Keeneland Race Course April 9. Proceeds benefit the UK Symphony Orchestra.
Calipari will sign up to 1,200 electric-blue 2010 Maker’s Mark Mile commemorative bottles for fans. (Rather than the usual brown-glass bottle with the red wax-like seal, the Maker's Mark Mile bottles are blue with blue wax and have an image of Calipari on it.) There's a limit of one signed bottle per person.
Maker's Mark is producing 24,000 numbered, limited-edition 750-milliliter bottles, which go on sale around the state April 2, the first day of Keeneland's spring meet. The commemorative Maker's Mark bottles will likely retail for $49. Their sale will bring in an estimated $300,000 for a music outreach program. In its second year, that program brings the UK Symphony Orchestra and students from UK's School of Music into public schools throughout Kentucky to interest for third- and fourth-graders in music. UK further hopes to attract matching funds that could bring the total up to $1.2 million.
“It's an honor to team with Maker's Mark and the university in this unique fundraising opportunity to help benefit the UK Symphony Orchestra Outreach Program," Calipari said. "I'm not sure the world is ready for my face on a bottle, but if it helps the university, I'm all for it. I hope all our great fans will support this worthy effort.“
Because of the incredible demand for these commemorative bourbon bottles, tickets will be awarded beforehand for a lottery of who will get the coveted signed bottles. Wildcat fans desiring an opportunity to get a ticket must come to another event on April 6. Only those fans who get a ticket in advance will have a chance to have Calipari sign their commemorative bottle. The evening event features a pep rally, music and festivities.
“With the popularity of Coach Cal, the enthusiasm of the Big Blue Nation — and, understandably, the Coach’s limited time to sign during the recruiting season — we felt it was important to create a process that made it is as fair and reasonable as possible for everyone involved, while also creating a fun, festive atmosphere,” said Keeneland President and CEO Nick Nicholson. Both Nicholson and Maker's Mark President Bill Samuels Jr. will be at the April 9 event.
On April 6, the first 1,200 fans to arrive will be let into Keeneland's Keene Barn and Entertainment Center. At 11 p.m., Keeneland will begin giving away tickets through a lottery — not first come, first served. The Keene Barn is at Gate 1, located across from Man O' War Boulevard. Gates 2 and 3 will be closed.
Fans with tickets can then return on April 9 and begin lining up, in order of their ticket number, as early as 6:30 a.m.
Calipari became UK's basketball coach last spring. In Calipari's one season at UK, the Wildcats garnered their 2,000th win and shot to their first No. 1 ranking since 2003.
- by Ivonne Rovira, Lexington Reporter for HelloMetro
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Ivonne RoviraA graduate of the prestigious Columbia University School of Journalism in New York City, Ivonne Rovira worked as a reporter for the Miami News, The Miami Herald and The Associated Press. She has written articles for The National Catholic Reporter and The Courier-Journal. For more than 15 years, Ivonne wrote and edited articles aimed at middle-school children.
