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The stars are off to the races!
Wynonna Judd, Josh Groban, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Aaron Rodgers and Tina Knowles were among the celebrities who attended the 35th Barnstable Brown Kentucky Derby Eve Gala on Friday, May 3, at the Louisville home of Patricia Barnstable Brown ahead of the Kentucky Derby on May 4 at Churchill Downs.
Smokey Robinson, Tracy Morgan, Joey Fatone, Pepa of Salt-N-Pepa, Daryl “DMC” McDaniels, Lee Brice, Travis Tritt and Mickey Guyton were some others who appeared at the charity event benefiting the University of Kentucky’s Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center.
Dannielynn Birkhead and dad Larry Birkhead also made their annual appearance.
The gala has raised and donated more than $20 million after it was founded by twin sisters Patricia and Priscilla Barnstable, their mother Wilma Barnstable and Patricia’s late husband, Dr. David E. Brown.
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Groban, 43, attended the event with his girlfriend, Natalie McQueen. At one point during the evening, the singer serenaded the crowd with his hit song “Raise Me Up.”
On his Instagram Stories, Groban posed for a photo with Judd, 59, who he called a “legend” and “the kindest.”
He also posed for a photograph with Fatone, 47, writing alongside the shot, “From day 1 of my career @realjoeyfatone has been one of the realest nicest guys I’ve ever met.”
“And he can sing real real good,” he added beside a red heart emoji.
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Fatone also appeared onstage during the night’s festivities, as did Brice, 44, and Pepa, 57, who performed hits such as “Whatta Man,” “Let’s Talk About Sex” and “Push It.”
Morgan, 55, meanwhile. was all smiles, and even joked that he had a winner picked for the upcoming big race — Secretariat, who was the Derby and Triple Crown winner for 1973.
Closing out the event was an impromptu performance led by Tritt, 61, Doug E Fresh and Kid Rock.
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Larry, 51, shared an Instagram carousel featuring photos of himself and Dannielynn, 17, from their father-daughter night out.
In the first image, the two sat beside each other and smiled at the camera. The proud dad, who shares his teen with the late Anna Nicole Smith, wore a gray suit set with a black tie, as his daughter opted for an all-black look previously worn by Janet Jackson.
In his caption, Larry wrote, “Dannielynn is wearing her second @janetjackson outfit to the party that I got from Janet’s @juliens_auctions -charity auction.”
The photographer concluded, “Looking forward to a fun Derby weekend with the newly graduated high school student!”
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