The “Ramble for the Roses,” a Kentucky Derby Festival tradition that started in 1986 at the now-closed Holy Rosary Academy, has come to an end. A newer off-shoot of the event — the “Ramble Trivia Night” — will continue, according to a statement from the event organizers.
Citing decreased participation in the annual walk, a message posted on DeSales High School’s Facebook page March 26 said, “the event has been permanently discontinued.”
The “Ramble for the Roses” originally travelled through the South Louisville neighborhood around Holy Rosary on Southside Drive, and in recent years, it had moved to Iroquois Park.
The posting said the event raised money initially for Holy Rosary. After the school closed in 2002, the walk raised funds for the Holy Rosary Scholarship program and DeSales and Holy Cross high schools, the news release said.
“The collaboration of DeSales and Holy Cross on the Ramble over the past seven years has provided thousands of dollars of financial aid and operational revenue for the two schools,” it said. “In recent years, however, registered participation in the walk had begun to wane significantly.”
DeSales and Holy Cross joined the Holy Rosary Academy (HRA) Alumnae Association as sponsors of the event in 2007, the release noted. From 2003 to 2006, after Holy Rosary closed, the event was administered by the now-dissolved Holy Rosary Foundation.
The “Ramble Trivia Night,” which began in 2011, “will continue providing the community an opportunity to partner with the schools in support of the Holy Rosary Scholarship program.
The schools hope to see an increase in participation in the trivia night in place of the walk especially from those who want to help carry the HRA legacy forward,” the message said.
This year’s trivia night is set for May 24.
My aunt my grand mother and my older brother used to go to this KY derby event I wish I could have gon with them just once to see what it was like