With Turkeyfest 2025 now a part of Cuero’s history, the current Ruby Begonia titleholder has earned her turkey freedom.
That should be a relief to anyone who worried that Ruby’s loss in the Great Gobbler Gallop on Oct. 11 could have destined her to become a centerpiece on someone’s Thanksgiving table. She is pardoned after her disappointing loss at the 53rd Annual Turkeyfest.
“She is just going to be fed and cared for and live out her life,” said Sherry Oakes, a member of the Turkeyfest Race Team, who noted that a new turkey is chosen for the big race every year.
Oakes said Ruby will be living on a farm between Cuero and Yorktown off Hwy. 72 in a family of five turkeys that includes a sister.
As the race team evaluated Ruby’s loss to Paycheck, another wild turkey from Worthington, Minn., she ran against, they concluded she was too tame, Oakes said.
“She is just too used to people,” said Oakes, who had noted in the first heat of the race in Minnesota that Ruby had been dawdling and too interested in the spectators while Paycheck skedaddled. “I can walk up to her and pet her like a dog. The people didn’t scare her. They need to be a little afraid of people so they will run.”
A riled wild turkey can run at speeds of up to 25 mph for short distances to escape danger, according to wildlife experts.
Oakes said the race team has already identified three new turkeys to begin training for Turkeyfest 2026. There will be a selection celebration on East Main Street in Cuero in mid-summer 2026 to choose one to race.
