Page 65 - May 2021

Caring for Our Own
PDJF’s long-term-funding initiative for injured jockeys
by Diane Rice
Imagine kissing your family goodbye on your way out the door to work one day. You look forward to returning home at the end of those satisfying and productive hours to participate in family life the way you have every day. The
way you always dreamed you would.
Now imagine the unimaginable: While at
work, you suffer a catastrophic fall that changes your life. And your spouse’s life. And your kids’ lives, and your parents’, and your siblings’ — and the lives of everyone else who loves you.
That’s the scenario that jockeys face every day when they head to work at the racetrack. And that’s why the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) was created in 2006.
THE NEED
All-time leading jockey G.R. Carter says that in the 35 years he rode racehorses, at least 10 of his fellow riders lost their lives to riding accidents. “That’s the ultimate sacrifice,” he says of his good friends — Sam Thompson, Jacky Martin and others. “But the second-most tragic outcome is being permanently disabled.
“These jocks gave their health permanently for the benefit of horse racing, and all aspects of horse racing ought to feel the need to take care of them,” says G.R. “These jocks are paraplegics and quadriplegics and riders with severe head injuries, and their monthly PDJF stipend doesn’t go very far in today’s society.
“The Jockeys’ Guild had taken care of its own permanently disabled members for many years until the mid-2000s when the organization faced financial troubles,” he explains. “The major concern then was that the Guild would no longer be able to take care of the injured jocks, which was one of the most important things they did.”
So, in 2006, a diverse group of industry leaders came together to form PDJF, a separate 501(c)(3) charity organization. “It’s been a really good thing because the separation allows us to focus on that one issue and it relieved the Jockeys’ Guild from that financial burden,” G.R. says.
But although PDJF was originally founded on the premise that primary funding would come from racetracks and horsemen’s groups,
fundraising events have instead borne the
burden of support for the injured jockeys. “We routinely have about 60 jocks who qualify for
the $1,000-per-month stipend plus monthly premiums for Medicare Parts B and D,” says G.R.
“That’s $60,000 per month, which adds up to $720,000 per year. That’s a lot of fundraising effort.”
In addition to donations by individuals and entities such as TVG and Breeders’ Cup, raising funds has included jockey-interactive public- awareness events such as telethons; autograph signings; jockey karaoke’s held on both East and West coasts; and Jockeys And Jeans, a luncheon or dinner where attendees can mingle with Hall of Fame jockeys and participate in auctions to promote the platform.
When COVID-19 hit in 2020, stipend recipients understandably worried whether PDJF funds were sufficient to ride out a potential fundraising desert due to social distancing.
The PDJF created its endowment in 2009 with the intent that one day it could be the primary funding mechanism or significantly
All-time leading jockey G.R. Carter says that in the 35 years he rode racehorses, at least 10 of his fellow riders lost their lives to riding accidents, including...
Sam Thompson Jacky Martin
SPEEDHORSE May 2021 63