Four runners in Saturday's Breeders' Cup World Championships will be donating a portion of their earnings to Lexington-based The Race For Education, a national scholarship program that helps young people in the horse industry afford a college education. The four horses are:
-- Darley Stable's Bernardini, winner of the Preakness Stakes (gr. I), Travers Stakes (gr. I), Jim Dandy Stakes (gr. II) and the Jockey Club Gold Cup (gr. I), in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic – Powered by Dodge (gr. I);
-- Paul Saylor's Fleet Indian, winner of the Delaware Handicap (gr. II), Personal Ensign Stakes (gr. I) and the Beldame Stakes (gr. I), in the $2 million Emirates Airline Distaff Division (gr. I);
-- Heiligbrodt Racing Stables' Appealing Zophie, winner of the Spinaway Stakes (gr. I), in the $2 million Juvenile Fillies Division (gr. I);
-- Team Valor's King of the Roxy, winner of the Futurity Stakes (gr. II), in the $2 million Bessemer Trust Juvenile Division (gr. I).Darley Stable has made a big splash since nominating their first horses this year. Bernardini alone has earned more than $20,000 for The Race For Education's scholarship funds. All of the tax-deductible donations go directly to the scholarship programs and are not subtracted from the horse's or owner's year-end earnings.Corinne Heiligbrodt, who with her husband Bill make up Heiligbrodt Racing Stables, has served on The Race For Education's scholarship recipient selection committee for the last two years. The Heiligbrodts have nominated approximately two dozen horses to the Racehorse Nomination Program over the last two years. Appealing Zophie is their second to run in the Breeders' Cup for The Race For Education; Bwana Charlie finished fourth in the 2004 Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I)."I'm very excited that Appealing Zophie is in the Breeders' Cup and equally excited that she is in The Race For Education program," said Corinne Heiligbrodt. "Bill and I are very enthusiastic about the program, and the students we have met are outstanding. We support the program with pleasure."The Race For Education is a national education scholarship foundation funded by various parties related to, or with an interest in the Thoroughbred racing industry. It is a nonprofit 501(c) (3) organization established to improve the quality of life for farm and track workers' families through education, attract younger and better-educated individuals to the careers in the Thoroughbred industry, and establish the racing industry as a good citizen in the community. In the four years since the organization's inception, The Race For Education has awarded more than $1 million in need-based scholarships to 90 college students from more than 25 states.The Race For Education offers three types of scholarships: -- Horsemen's Scholarships are available to children of racing industry workers, including but not limited to foremen, grooms, hot walkers, trainers, riders and maintenance workers. This scholarship is open to any field of study;
-- Thoroughbred Scholarships are available to students wishing to pursue a racing- or equine-related career, such as pre-veterinary medicine, agricultural science, racetrack management, or equine business management. The scholarship is open to students from all walks of life.
-- The National Turf Writers Association/Youbet.com Journalism Scholarship is available to students attending accredited universities who either major or minor in journalism.Information on The Race For Education's Racehorse Nomination Program and scholarship programs can be found at www.racingscholarships.com.