Scheduled for June 12-13 on Lake Winnebago in Oshkosh, Wis., the Four Horseman Poker Run opened registration this morning. Though the event attracted a record-setting 86 boats in 2019, in the interest of safety and management it will be limited to 75 boats this year.

“Any more than that it just gets to be too much for the waterway and the lunch stop,” said Shannon Radtke, the event’s longtime primary organizer.

The 2019 Four Horsemen Poker Run delivered the best turnout in the event’s 10-year history. Photo courtesy/copyright Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

Proceeds from the event will go to the Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Services organization in Neenah, Wis., which has remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic. The entry fee is $350 for each boat and captain. Additional passenger registration is $150 per person.

The festivities begin with a dinner celebration at the Dockside, which is part of the adjacent to the host venue Sweetwater Performance Center and Marina in Oshkosh, from 7 p.m. to midnight. Registration on site runs from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Saturday’s happenings begin with a mandatory drivers meeting/brunch 10:30 a.m. The fleet departs at noon for the poker run and is expected to run by 4:30 p.m. Card play, happy hour, a live auction and a raffle begin at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m. Live music starts and 8 p.m. and run to midnight.

As one of the first major go-fast boating events of a summer surely to be affected by the novel coronavirus crisis, the 2020 Four Horsemen Poker Run could be a bell-weather of event participation to come this season. Radtke remains optimistic based on feedback so far, despite having to canceling next weekend’s annual Warm Your Engines party in response to COVID-19 shelter-in-place mandates.

Said Radtke (shown here with her husband, Brian), “We are the first poker run of the summer for many people, especially in Wisconsin.”

“Based on the emails I have received the responses to our Facebook page announcements, I think we will have a pretty good turnout,” she said. “I have had numerous people reach out to me and ask it we’re going ahead. Some people will be apprehensive and some will come ‘guns ablazing.’ Some will be right down the middle. But I think we’ll still have a solid turnout.

“We are the first poker run of the summer for many people, especially in Wisconsin,” she continued. “The Four Horsemen Poker Run is a great way to kick off summer and say goodbye to the winter blues.”

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