Jockeys and Jeans, a group founded by former jockeys to raise funds for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (“PDJF”), will hold their eighth annual fundraising event at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., on July 2. The popular event will take place on the final day of Churchill Downs' Spring Meet and include a day of live racing featuring the Grade 2 Stephen Foster Stakes.
The event has been scheduled to take place at Churchill Downs since 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic until 2022. In a show of support and recognition that the need for funding still exists through a pandemic, those committed partners turned their event sponsorship into cash donations. Jockeys and Jeans came roaring back in 2021 with its event at Monmouth Park raising a one-year record of $342,000.
“This is our first event in Kentucky,” said Jockeys and Jeans president Barry Pearl. “For us it's an opportunity to have those in the Bluegrass area who have so generously helped this cause to come out and meet some of those severely injured jockeys they have consistently supported and say hello to a large group of Hall of Famers there to honor their fallen brothers and sisters.”
“We are thrilled to finally welcome Jockeys and Jeans to Churchill Downs,” said Mike Anderson, president of Churchill Downs Racetrack. “We are deeply committed to supporting the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and the athletes that make the sport of horse racing possible. We invite our fans to join us in rallying around this great cause and spectacular event during an exciting day of racing under the Twin Spires.”
The 17 Hall of Fame Riders scheduled to attend include Braulio Baeza, Bill Boland, Don Brumfield, Steve Cauthen, Pat Day, Early Fires, Julie Krone, Chris McCarron, Laffit Pincay Jr., Craig Perret, Edgar Prado, Jose Santos, Alex Solis, Gary Stevens, Jacinto Vasquez, and Jockeys and Jeans committee member Sandy Hawley. Hall of Famer Jerry Bailey will be present as part of NBC's Stephen Foster Stakes broadcast team and will take part in Jockey and Jeans' meet and greet segment.
Other notables scheduled to attend include two of the five living Triple Crown winning jockeys: Jean Cruguet who won the 1977 Triple Crown on Seattle Slew and Steve Cauthen who won the 1978 Triple Crown aboard Affirmed. Also attending will be the 1970 Kentucky Derby winning Jockey Mike Manganello. Fourteen of the jockeys attending will comprise a total of 17 Kentucky Derby wins, including Bill Boland, who won in 1950 aboard Middleground, representing the oldest Kentucky Derby winning jockey. Several other Kentucky Derby winning and Hall of Fame jockeys are expected to attend.
Fallen jockeys attending include Gary Birzer, Stacy Burton, Gary Donahue, Jackie Fires, Linda Hughes, Michael Martinez, Armando Rivera, Michael Straight and Jockeys and Jeans committee members Roger Blanco and Jayme LaRocca.
All funds raised will go to the PDJF, which makes monthly payments of $1,000 to 60 severely injured former jockeys. The all-volunteer group has raised over $2 million for the charity.
The event begins at 11:00 a.m. ET in Churchill Downs' Triple Crown Room. Tickets are $75 and can be purchased through Ticketmaster at https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/16005B5CAD1637A6?did=jockey or can be accessed at www.jockeysandeans.com and www.churchilldowns.com. Lunch is included in the event ticket price.
Noted Keeneland Sales auctioneer Ryan Mahan will host an auction that will feature rare racing memorabilia and guests will have the opportunity to bid on rare silent auction items. The riders, including those permanently disabled, will sign special autographed posters and other memorabilia brought by fans at a special signing in the grandstand that will be open to the general public.
The post Jockeys And Jeans’ PDJF Fundraiser To Attract Large Group Of Former Riders To Churchill Downs On July 2 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
