Farmer, owner of Albert the Great, announced Wednesday that five percent of the colt's earnings in the upcoming Jockey Club Gold Cup and Breeders' Cup Classic will be donated to the Heroes Fund. To date, Albert the Great has won four major stakes at Belmont Park, while earning $2,472,490 during his career. The son of Go for Gin captured last year's Jockey Club Gold Cup, and is expected to face a small field in this year's running, which will be held on Oct. 6.When the announcement of the Heroes Fund was made on September 14th, New York Racing Association president and chief operating officer Terry Meyocks said: "Our sport works every day with emergency personnel like the brave men and women who gave their lives. In our particular case at NYRA, they and other victims are literally also are neighbors and, in many cases, our relatives and friends. It is entirely appropriate to dedicate racing's biggest day - held this year in New York - to their memories and families."
Coolmore principal John Magnier and fellow Thoroughbred owner Michael Tabor are following the lead of fellow owner Tracy Farmer with a pledge to contribute a percentage of any of their horses' winnings from the Oct. 27 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships at New York's Belmont Park to the NTRA Charities -- New York Heroes Fund. The fund will assist the spouses and children of the New York City firefighters, police, emergency service personnel, and other victims of the World Trade Center disaster on Sept. 11.The Coolmore duo, along with trainer Aidan O'Brien and jockey Michael Kinane, have each pledged to donate 10 percent of any of their horses' winnings to the fund. The Magnier/Tabor horses expected to start in the Breeders' Cup include Galileo, a leading contender in the $4 million Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I), Mozart, a Penske Auto Centers Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I) prospect, and Johannesburg, a possible starter in the Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I). "We are deeply grateful for this leadership and support from John and Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Aidan O'Brien, Michael Kinane and the rest of the Coolmore team, and, by extension, from the Irish racing community," said D.G. Van Clief Jr., president of Breeders' Cup Limited.