Disabled Jockeys Fund

Over 3,000 wins on horseback. Preakness, Belmont, the Kentucky Derby. One of the most vaunted jockeys in history became a paraplegic on a sunny afternoon at Belmont when his horse went down, and he fell with it. Now Ron Turcotte works as a spokesperson for the PDJF (Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund), talking to sports groups and counseling jockeys in an effort to raise funds for those jockeys that have been seriously injured in training or competition. Since jockeys are self-employed, they have no gold watch, no pension, and insurance is hard to get for one of the most dangerous sports in the world.

The PDJF helps those jockeys by supplying them with medical and legal assistance, as well as counseling. You can imagine how tough it must be to go from riding a 1200 pound speeding horse to a 3 mile per hour wheelchair, especially after training for decades to be a professional jockey. Learning how to be a jockey takes a serious level of commitment which few are able to achieve, those who do are tough, and even when injured, keep on coming back to the sport that they love so much, that they put their very lives on the line in competition.

Jockeys are tough, they have to be to do their daily job, but they do need our assistance when they have been disabled, after providing years of entertainment and excitement for millions of horse racing fans. If you enjoy the pure sport of horse racing, and would like to help out, please contact your local track, and see what you can do to help out these amazing athletes.