Page 67 - May 2021

“The poetry of a horse race can become chaos in the blink of an eye; a jockey plummets to the racetrack, trying to avoid the crushing weight of his falling mount and often rolling amidst a hellish pounding of hooves. Medics arrive quickly to assess the severity of injuries and provide immediate care. The most fortunate riders get treatment in the first aid room and walk out of the track for some badly needed R&R. Then there are those riders who are rushed to a hospital for more extensive care or even surgery.
As the doctors and medical staff do their best, family and friends arrive. The racetrack chaplain visits, and the hospital stay stretches from days to weeks. Well-wishers call, offer prayers, and send a flurry of flowers and cards. If luck stays at a rider’s side, even a serious injury will lead to recuperation, rehabilitation, and an eventual return to the jocks’ room to compete again.
But not all riders are so lucky, and those
few seconds of chaos have changed their lives forever. They face paralysis and/or debilitating brain injury that can mean complicated surgeries and prolonged recovery. Specialized treatments. Specialized care centers. New ways of living have to be adopted and accepted by the rider, the family, and their friends. The jockey may get better, but there may be no cure.
An independent 501(c)(3) non-profit charity, the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) stands with those who may never stand, walk, or function as they once did. The PDJF
is there when the hard work of rehabilitation begins in earnest. The PDJF is a constant source of support and hope for jockeys who have suffered catastrophic on-track accidents.
The PDJF is an all-volunteer organization. We are especially thankful for the hundreds of volunteers who share countless hours supporting our cause. The PDJF makes a difference because of them.
Every day jockeys put their lives on the line for the sport we all love. Without them, horse racing could not exist. They give us their courage and commitment; in return, the racing industry must catch them when they fall. That is why the PDJF exists. That is why we need your help.”
— Nancy LaSala, Permanently Disabled Jockeys’ Fund Executive Director and Board President
The resulting Riders Up Initiative consists of offering horse owners whose horses win a race the opportunity to contribute a bit of their good fortune to fellow horsemen in need:
the disabled jockeys.
this initiative and have agreed to underwrite the costs for the software programming upgrade for racetracks to download onto their operating system.
“Our focus for implementing Riders Up to our industry partners has been to present the program and provide the tools so that horse owners can make informed decisions on their participation, and to minimize workload for those supporting program operation processes with the program upgrade.”
THE PLEA
With medical expenses that reach astronomical levels, permanently disabled jockeys are still thankful for the limited extent
to which PDJF can now help them. “You hear their stories, and it just breaks your heart,” says G.R. “Once they’re disabled and in a wheelchair, they get to feeling disconnected from horse racing and that horse racing has forgotten about them. To me, the most rewarding thing is that they can still feel that connection to horse racing through PDJF.”
“I was in racetrack management for over
30 years and be it in Florida or New York or wherever, if a jockey got injured, I’d nearly always go to the hospital and make sure they were being taken care of and had what they needed,” Terry says. “When I was asked to get involved in PDJF, it was just a no-brainer to try to help them and raise awareness.”
For more information and to read the personal stories of injured jockeys whom PDJF helps, visit pdjf.org.
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