THE Budweiser Derby is traditionally one of the highlights of the social diary - in previous years the likes of Paul Newman and Richard Gere have dropped in. Tomorrow the punters can expect a proliferation of epaulettes and braid as the top brass on the JFK mingle with the crowd.
The best party to be at on Sunday - in a marquee at the Curragh is being held by Anheuser Busch supremo Michael J. Roarty and his wife Lee, who are flying in from the US for the event. The pre Derby Budweiser Ball, in aid of the Children of Chernobyl, at the Burlington Hotel in Dublin tonight, will be the biggest. The ballroom will be decided out to look like a race track, with turnstiles at the doors and finishing posts. Ballgoers include Ali Hewson, Flo McSweeney and husband Barry Murphy, Denis Desmond and Caroline Downey and Noeleen and Charlie McCreevey.