Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund

Jockeys will sign Ellis Park 100th season commemorative posters to raise money for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) on Saturday. The jockey autograph session is part of Jockeys Across America, where tracks across the country pay tribute to National Disability Independence Day and raise funds for and awareness about the PDJF. The Ellis Park jockeys, as their riding schedules permit, will sign the full-color posters throughout the afternoon at a table between the paddock pavilion and the paddock. There is no charge, but donations will be accepted for the...

Jockeys competing on Saturday, July 30 (or another mutually agreed upon date that week at racetracks not racing that day) will pay tribute to National Disability Independence Day and raise awareness and funds for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund. Last year's event raised more than $50,000 at racetracks across the country. Jockeys at some 20 racetracks are expected to participate in various activities to support the PDJF while also saluting National Disability Independence Day, which marks the 32nd anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Throughout...

Randy Sampson, CEO and Chairman of Canterbury Park, has been named Jockeys and Jeans 2022 Person of the Year. Sampson is a member of the Jockeys and Jeans organizing committee and has been helpful in advising it on track relations and fundraising. Canterbury Park, the track he and his family own in Shakopee, MN, hosted the 2018 Jockeys and Jeans Fundraiser, raising $268,000. Sampson will accept the award at the eighth annual Jockeys and Jeans fundraiser July 2 at Churchill Downs. "Of course, I am truly honored," Sampson said. "But...

Members of the Belmont Park jockey colony will participate in an autograph signing Friday to benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund (PDJF). The special meet and greet and autograph session featuring riders from the Belmont jockey colony with a suggested donation to PDJF will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday on the first floor grandstand. Benefits from the signing will go directly to the PDJF. The PDJF is an independent charitable organization that provides financial assistance to jockeys who have suffered catastrophic on-track injuries. For more...

Jockeys and Jeans, a group founded by former jockeys to raise funds for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund, will hold their eighth annual fundraising event at Churchill Downs July 2. The popular event will take place on the final day of Churchill Downs's Spring Meet and include a day of live racing featuring the GII Stephen Foster S. 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...

TVG, the New York Racing Association, Keeneland and Santa Anita will team with Hall of Fame jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild and other prominent racing personalities to raise money for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) Sunday, Apr. 10 for the fourth annual telethon to raise money for the PDJF. The event will be broadcast on both TVG and America's Day at the Races on FS2 in collaboration with NYRA and FOX Sports. After missing 2020 due to the pandemic, the popular event returned in 2021 and...

Jockeys and Jeans, a volunteer group dedicated to raising funds for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF), has named Caesars Entertainment Inc. Vice President of Racing Joe Morris as an official Jockeys and Jeans Ambassador. In this role, Morris will advocate for wounded jockeys' financial support, make known the inherent dangers of racing, and help in jockey recovery. "It's hard putting into context what this level of participation means to horse racing's fallen heroes," said Barry Pearl, President of Jockeys and Jeans. "It's more than a response to a huge...

Lane's End Farm helped raise nearly $50,000 for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) with the auction of 20 hand-crafted surfboards, each individually designed to highlight the nursery's stallion roster. The surfboards were created in partnership with the Cornett advertising agency and the Torrance, California-based Chili Surfboards. Prior to being auctioned off to the highest bidders, the surfboards were on public display at Breeders' Cup partner hotels in the Del Mar area as well as the racetrack over Breeders' Cup weekend. John Velazquez, Mike Smith, Drayden Van Dyke and Victor...

Twenty-four handcrafted surfboards representing the entire Lane's End Farm stallion roster will be on display at Del Mar and at Breeders' Cup partner hotels from Nov. 3-6 and will be auctioned off to benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund, according to a press release from the farm Thursday. The PDJF is an independent charitable organization that provides financial assistance to jockeys who have suffered catastrophic injuries. The unique boards will be on public display at the Hyatt Regency, Fairmont Grand, Lodge at Torrey Pines, and L'Auberge—as well as Del Mar...

Hall of Fame jockeys, TVG's on-air talent and other prominent racing personalities will once again take to the phones Sunday, Oct. 17 as TVG and The Jockeys Guild host the third annual telethon to raise money for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF). The event, canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, raised $330,000 in 2019, an increase of more than $100,000 over the inaugural event in 2018. Fan favorite jockeys of today and years past will be on hand live at call centers in California and Kentucky from 12:00...

Last Saturday's Jockeys and Jeans Fundraiser held at Monmouth Park raised $340,000, breaking the record of $312,000 raised in 2019 when the event was held at Canterbury Park. Organized by an all volunteer group, Jockeys and Jeans has now raised a total of $1.9 million for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund. "I've heard it said that jockeys don't get the credit they deserve by the racing industry and don't do enough to help each other," said Jockeys and Jeans President Barry Pearl. "We just proved that is a myth." At...

The upcoming seventh annual Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF)'s popular Jockeys and Jeans fundraiser, to be held Sept. 11 at Monmouth Park, will feature proxy bidding for the live auction items available at the event. A number of unique items and racing-related memorabilia are being offered in the live auction, including halters worn by American Pharoah, Authentic, Curlin, and Tiz the Law, as well as a boot signed by the last five winning jockeys of the Triple Crown and a signed custom racing saddle. Click here for the auction proxy...