The 2008 Kentucky Derby Poker Championship was the first year for the event and raised over $30,000 for the charities involved.  The winner was professional poker player, Layne “Back to Back” Flack collecting a check for $13,000 and a $10,000 seat in the 2008 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

Of the $30,000 raised, the Health & Climate Foundation and International Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Center received 80% of the funds and allocated it to malaria and meningitis programs in Africa. The other 20% of the funds went to The Robby Albarado Foundation and was allocated to the Coalition of the Homeless in Louisville, Kentucky.