On Monday the Breeders' Cup announced that it has selected the California Retirement Management Account (CARMA) as the beneficiary of the 2012 Deepstacks Poker Tour Breeders' Cup Celebrity Invitational, which will be held during Breeders' Cup week on October 30 at Commerce Casino.
CARMA is a non-profit, charitable organization created to raise money for retired California racehorses, dedicated to the goal of providing funding for the rehabilitation, retraining and/or retirement of Thoroughbred horses that have raced in California.
Funds raised at the 2012 CARMA Cares "Poker in Paradise -- A Night Under the Stars," hosted by Breeders' Cup poker ambassador Mike "The Grinder" Mizrachi, in July totaled more than $60,000 for retired racehorses. The final table from that event won automatic entry into the final table of the Breeders' Cup Celebrity Invitational Poker Tournament. The night's grand prizewinner, Steve Rothblum, also won a VIP experience trip to the 2012 Breeders' Cup World Championships.
The second annual Breeders' Cup Celebrity Invitational Poker Tournament will be held at Commerce Casino in Commerce, California, and will again be hosted by Mizrachi, a two-time winner of the World Series of Poker $50,000 Players Championship. Winner of the Breeders' Cup Celebrity Invitational Poker Tournament will earn an automatic entry into the Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge, November 2 and 3 at Santa Anita Park.
"We're honored to be able to support an organization as committed to Thoroughbred retirement and rehabilitation as CARMA," Breeders' Cup CEO Craig Fravel said. "The importance of the well-being of our athletes extends beyond their racing careers, so it's important that we as an industry are able to provide adequate facilities and resources for these Thoroughbreds."
"We are so pleased Breeders' Cup has selected CARMA as one of its charity partners this year," CARMA founder and Board Chair Madeline Auerbach said. "Having a global organization like the Breeders' Cup talk about and promote racehorse retirement is vital to our efforts -- raising awareness is essential for raising funds. The entire CARMA Board is thrilled to have Breeders' Cup as a partner this year and we join the rest of California racing in welcoming Breeders' Cup back to Santa Anita Park."
CARMA ensures that the racehorses have retirement options by managing and disbursing funds to qualified charities. Since its inception in 2008, CARMA has granted more than $1.08 million, and more than 80 percent of the funds raised are used in the day-to-day care of these horses.
The final table from the 2012 "Poker in Paradise -- A Night Under the Stars" includes Rothblum, Lon Payne, Patrick Soltero, Matt Lovingier, Gary Grey, Tracy Reed, Jay Scoratow and Peter Webb.
