(From Gulfstream Park)
Earlier this month, Gulfstream Park announced its pledge to donate $10,000 to a pair of National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s Charities – Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.
The Jockeys Fund was established by Magna Entertainment Corp., owner of Gulfstream Park, the NTRA, and other racing organizations to help all former jockeys who have been permanently paralyzed due to a race-riding accident.
MEC seeded the fund with $50,000 at the time of its creation, May 18, 2006.
Contributions to the Jockeys Fund can be made via mail by sending a check to NTRA Charities – Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund, c/o NTRA, 2525 Harrodsburg Road, Lexington, Ky. 40504.
Former Miami Dolphin and Hall of Fame linebacker Nick Buoniconti helped create the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. Nick’s son Mark, now 42, became the public face for the fund-raising arm of the Miami Project, The Buoniconti Fund, after suffering a crushed spinal cord while playing football for The Citadel in 1985.
Donations to the Miami Project can be made by sending a check to The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, Attn. Director of Annual Giving, P.O. Box 016960 (R48), Miami, Fla. 33101.
“Day in, day out, jockeys across America risk life and limb,” said Gulfstream Park president and general manager Bill Murphy in making the announcement. “At its best, race riding is a performance art that thrills and dazzles fans. Gulfstream Park and MEC recognizes the contributions these brave and incredibly talented people make. Thanks to a successful 2009 meeting at Gulfstream Park, we are able to make these contributions, and we hope to improve upon these contributions each succeeding year.”
