HKS Goes to the Races at the Virginia Gold Cup

The HKS DC Alumni Council sold its IVY TENT in University Row out with 140 guests at the 2016 Virginia Gold Cup Steeplechase Races in Middleburg, Virginia on Saturday, May 7th.

After rain earlier in the week, the skies cleared and everyone enjoyed magnificent weather and great camaraderie throughout the glorious day.

The Harvard Kennedy School anchored the IVY TENT with collegial help from partner schools Penn, Princeton, Harvard, Columbia, Brown, Yale, Harvard Business School, MIT, Johns Hopkins and Bucknell.

Our alums mixed with over 800 fellow revelers in six other tents in University Row. Run since 1922, the Gold Cup with its 50,000 annual spectators is the social event of the year, while University Row is the Mid-Atlantic’s biggest inter-alumni event.

IVY TENT and University Row guests were decked out in fancy hats and swanky spring clothing at our prime North Rail location. Horses galloped by in eight steeplechase races around the three-mile track with challenging jumps right in front of us.

Councilors Steve Powell, Jayme Johnson, David Rosenberg, Nancy Bearg and Ruma Samdani represented HKS with gracious on-site help from Malik Akbar and Joelle Schmitz. Joey Wang took outstanding photos, as usual, while Equine Impresario Todd Theringer masterminded the entire operation for HKS and our many guests.

Some took luxurious University Row buses from and back to DC while others drove. Gourmet food and ambrosial libations were served all day with Best Hat and Best Outfit contests, cornhole, Giant Jenga and official race wagering for more fun.

After the Gold Cup, many watched huge video monitors around the grounds as another horse race --- the Kentucky Derby – took place.

This was the first IVY TENT, but the HKS DC Alumni Council is making it an annual event…. so mark your calendars for Saturday, May 6th, 2017.