Space Coast Derby Day | Rockledge Rotary Club

Space Coast Derby Day 2025

History

Space Coast Derby Day started as Rockledge Rotary’s main fundraiser in 2004. Known as Rockledge Rotary Derby Day, the event was originally held at the Rockledge Country Club. It grew over the next few years until that venue was no longer large enough. We later became a fixture at the Holiday Inn Viera from 2007-2014. With the gaining popularity of the event, we chose a venue with virtually unlimited growth opportunities and moved to Wickham Park. At that time, we rebranded the event to be known as Space Coast Derby Day. As an indoor/outdoor event with live horse racing, we were able to almost double our capacity and provide Central Florida’s premier Kentucky Derby experience hence increasing the support we were able to provide our charitable organizations. In 2020, due to COVID-19, we transitioned to a live, virtual event which enabled us to continue to support charitable organizations despite the new challenges the year brought many. From 2021 - 2024, we hosted the event live again but at a new venue, The Twisted Birch. This year, with the growth of the event, we will host it at the St. John Event Hall. This venue provides us with more room and parking. But we're pleased to say that the Twisted Birch team will still be with us via the catering and full bar. Proceeds from the 2024 Space Coast Derby Day Event tallied $40K, which was distributed between the charities. A portion of the funds stay with the Rockledge Rotary Foundation and are used to give to the local community throughout the year.

Beneficiaries

The Children’s Hunger Project provides over 4,300+ children in Brevard at 60 schools with weekend meals who may be at risk of little or no available food. All meals are prepped, packed and distributed by our volunteers. Every Friday, The Children’s Hunger Project helps elementary school children by providing nutritional food packages to carry kid-friendly food home in their backpack. On Monday, the kids return to school but with a better and healthier foundation for learning. Thanks to many volunteers and supporters, we have served Brevard County children on school weekends without missing a single week, since 2010.

The East Coast Zoological Society is embarking on a historic campaign to build a world-class Aquarium and Conservation Center on Florida’s East Coast. This will serve as a regional conservation hub with an emphasis on restoring our coastal ecosystems, including the Indian River Lagoon, rehabilitating sea turtles and manatees and engaging children and families in conservation through fun, interactive, hands-on experiences further ensuring our quality of life continues for future generations.