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PDJF Awareness Day at Saratoga Race Course to feature jockey autograph session

by Pat McKenna

Uniting with racetracks across the country to support the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) Day, riders competing at Saratoga Race Course will participate in a host of activities on Saturday, July 30 to raise awareness and funding for the PDJF. 

This year, PDJF Day was selected to coincide with this week’s National Disability Independence Day, which marks the 32nd anniversary of the passage of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President George H.W. Bush in 1990, the ADA banned discrimination based on disability in all parts of public life while improving the quality of life immeasurably for millions of people with disabilities. 

Highlighting the day’s events will be a special meet and greet and autograph session with riders from the Saratoga jockey colony, who will sign autographs on the Jockey Silks Room Porch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Fans who make a donation to the PDJF will receive a commemorative poster. 

“We thank the many jockeys from Saratoga and around the country for supporting this effort to heighten awareness of the Americans with Disabilities Act and assist in raising funds for the PDJF,” said Terry Meyocks, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Jockeys’ Guild and a member of the Board of Directors of the PDJF. “We also are immensely grateful to everyone who contributes financially to the PDJF.”

In conjunction with PDJF Day, the Permanently Disabled Jockeys’ Fund will be featured at the Community Outreach Booth on Saturday. The PDJF provides financial assistance to former jockeys who have suffered catastrophic on-track injuries. Since its founding in 2006, the fund has disbursed nearly $11 million dollars to permanently disabled jockeys.  

The 2022 summer meet at Saratoga Race Course will continue through Labor Day, Monday, September 5. Racing at Saratoga Race Course is held five days a week, Wednesdays through Sundays, with the exception of closing week, which will run Wednesday, August 31 through Labor Day.

For more information about Saratoga Race Course, visit  NYRA.com.

About the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund

The Permanently Disabled Jockeys' Fund (PDJF) is a 501(c)(3) charity that currently provides financial assistance to approximately 60 former jockeys who have suffered catastrophic on-track injuries. Founded in 2006 by leaders in the Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse industries, the PDJF has disbursed over $12 million to permanently disabled jockeys, most of whom have sustained paralysis or traumatic brain injuries. For more information and to donate, go to www.pdjf.org.