Brady keeps low profile at the Derby

A media-shy Patriots QB Tom Brady and linebacker Tedy Bruschi joined a host of celebrities including Peyton Manning and 11 of his Colts teammates, Jenny McCarthy, Gene Simmons, Kid Rock, Kevin Federline, and Jimmy Fallon at a fund-raiser Friday night in Louisville, Ky., that raised more than $1 million for diabetes research. "It's the fifth year we've been lucky enough to have Tom and the amazing Patriots join us," said the event's host Patricia Barnstable Brown, who opens her Louisville estate each year on the eve of the Kentucky Derby. Brady made the Derby weekend rounds sans supermodel girlfriend Gisele Bundchen, said Brown. But No. 12 and Bruschi had teammates Larry Izzo, Mike Vrabel, Dan Koppen, Lonie Paxton, and Matt Cassel to pal around with. Larry Birkhead, ex-boyfriend to the late Anna Nicole Smith and father of her daughter Dannielynn, was cheered by Louisville residents as he entered the Barnstable Brown Foundation gala, the annual party where he met Smith in 2004, the Associated Press reported. In past years, Brady and Manning have gone up to the gala stage to throw out small footballs to those who paid as much as $40,000 to sponsor a table at the event, Brown said, but not this year. "Tom let Peyton and his teammates take the stage," said Brown. "We almost had too many celebrities there to support us. . . . It was beyond. " Brown's late husband, David E. Brown, who died in 2003 after a long battle with diabetes, was the inspiration for the gala, which has been held for the last 19 years. For Saturday's 133d running of the Kentucky Derby, Brown and her sister, Priscilla, hosted the whole crew -- Brady and the Pats as well -- at the Turf Club, the same level where Queen Elizabeth II was taking in the day at the Derby. Brady & Co. kept a low-profile at Churchill Downs as well. Brady refused to answer questions as he headed through Gate 17 on Saturday, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported. As for how well the Pats players fared at the day of racing, Brown proved to be a model of Louisville decorum. "A couple of years ago, the [Patriots] guys did really well in a race before the Derby, like the sixth race, and there [were] guys up on the tables cheering," said Brown. "Let me just say that [on Saturday] there was no one up on any tables. . . . But several guys have already signed up for next year."

Affleck was happy to pitch in on DVD

The creator of the new DVD "Red Sox Baby: Raising Tomorrow's Boston Red Sox Fan Today" admits his business model looked a whole lot better after Ben Affleck got on board. "We wanted a celebrity narrator that the common fan would know," says Greg Scheinman, CEO of Team Baby Entertainment. "Ben's synonymous with the Sox, and whether you're reading the Sporting News or Us Weekly, you know that." The 30-minute DVD introduces the pre school set to baseball and the BoSox. It didn't take a lot of arm-twisting to get the Sox superfan to talk about his favorite team. Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, who owns the Team Baby franchise, simply asked the Oscar winner, and Ben said yes.

Actress and recording artist Queen Latifah wowed the crowd as the keynote speaker at the Simmons School of Management Leadership Conference on Saturday. Also speaking were CNN's chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour; former first lady of Mexico Marta Sahagún de Fox; and former first lady of Egypt and world peace activist Jehan Sadat.

Cambridge crime writer Robert Parker and cast members from the New Repertory Theatre's production of "The Wild Party" gathered to discuss tomorrow night's "Wild" gala. The event will feature, among other auction items, the chance to have a character in an upcoming Parker book named after the winning bidder.

First-time Boston filmmaker Josh Golder's getting an assist from grunge-rock royalty. Golder's documentary "True Guts," about living with Crohn's disease and colitis, has been endorsed by Pearl Jam's Mike McCready, who was diagnosed with Crohn's disease and colitis 20 years ago. McCready apparently talks up the film every chance he gets. . . . Add Mary-Louise Parker's name to the list of celebs helping the environment. The "Weeds" star has recorded a radio spot for New Englanders in which she claims to air-dry her clothes.

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