News Releases

Friday, December 17, 2004Contact: Bob Curran (212) 521-5326
The Jockey Club Foundation: $600,000 in Assistance in 2004

In early December, 45 individuals in the Thoroughbred industry received checks from The Jockey Club Foundation. They were not early Christmas presents. Instead, they represented the monthly stipend that the Foundation provides to them 12 times each year.

By the time December 31st rolls around, the Foundation in 2004 will have distributed approximately $600,000 in aid to over 100 needy individuals throughout the Thoroughbred industry.

Some of that total was distributed through a monthly assistance plan to individuals who need help on an ongoing basis; the remainder was distributed to individuals requiring assistance on a short-term basis.

“Many of the people we help have had a temporary setback in their life and we help them through a bad time,” explained Nancy Kelly, the executive director of The Jockey Club Foundation. “Others are less fortunate and need assistance for a longer duration of time.”

Because all assistance is provided on a confidential basis, you will never see a list of recipients. But those recipients represent virtually every facet of the Thoroughbred industry, from jockeys, trainers, exercise riders and grooms to office personnel and other employees of racetracks, racing organizations and breeding farms.

In 2004, the Foundation paid for prosthetic legs, physical therapy, medication that wasn’t covered by insurance, wheelchairs, handicap controls for motor vehicles, funerals, headstones and countless medical bills.

The Foundation, which was created in 1943, is governed by a three-member board of trustees that includes Steve Duncker, John Hettinger and D.G. Van Clief, Jr.

“Since 1998, The Jockey Club Foundation has provided more than $5,000,000 in assistance to individuals who have devoted their lives to the Thoroughbred industry,” Kelly said. “We know that our assistance has made a difference in their lives and we are glad that the Foundation can help so many people.”

Additional information about The Jockey Club Foundation can be obtained by visiting its recently re-designed web site at http://www.tjcfoundation.org.