Travers Celebration returns for its 10th year

The Travers Celebration will return for its 10th year to honor 2009 Travers

(G1) champion Summer Bird on August 26, just two-days before the running of the

141st edition of the $1 million Travers.

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. (EDT) 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, New York.

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.