Like other busy employees, Gilbertsville native Kevin Kerstein is worked this past Saturday. But as reported by Tom Rader of WFMZ 69 News, he wasn’t sitting behind a desk or logging a retail shift.

Kerstein was overseeing publicity at Churchill Downs, site of the 149th edition of the Kentucky Derby.

After graduating Boyertown Area Senior High School, Kerstein attended Bellarmine University in Louisville.

But a blossoming passion soon enveloped him.

“I started skipping some classes in college and coming to the racetrack — when I probably should have been at college studying — and ended up really falling in love with horse racing,” he remembered.

You can take the PR pro out of the Philadelphia area, but you can’t take the Philadelphia area out of a PR pro. Kerstein still has a locally focused palate.

“It’s very exciting to be a part of the world’s greatest horse race,” he said. “[But] I wish there was a Wawa down here for me to be able to have some coffee on Saturday, because I need it.

“Luckily I have some Tastykakes behind me that my parents sent me.”

To gallop through the full story on Kevin Kerstein, go to WFMZ 69 News.

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Miss the 149th Kentucky Derby? Here it is.