Space Coast Derby Day | Rockledge Rotary Club

Space Coast Derby Day 2026

Save the Date:

Saturday, May 2, 2026

The Oasis at Palm Shores (Space Coast Association of Realtors building)

2950 Pineda Plaza Way, Palm Shores, FL 32940

History

Racehorse with jockey, running on a dirt track, blue sky with clouds.

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 as Space Coast Derby Day. As an indoor/outdoor event with live horse racing, we were able to nearly double our capacity and provide Central Florida’s premier Kentucky Derby experience. 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. In 2025, with the growth of the event, we hosted it at the St. John Event Hall. This year's venue is TBD.

Proceeds from the 2025 Space Coast Derby Day Event tallied $85.5K, 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.