One of the best people I’ve met in racing is three time Kentucky Derby winner Chris MacCarron. He is a legend that has won every important race several times. He is currently running a jockey school in Lexington. I had a chance to meet him a year ago, and I was assisting him as he signed autographs.

The money he raised was for the benefit of the MacBeth Fund, an organization that exists to help injured and disabled jockeys that he helped to start. The fund is named in honor of Don MacBeth, a jockey who died of cancer. MacBeth is most famous for riding Chief’s Crown to victory in the inaugaral Breeders Cup Juvenile and the Travers Stakes the following year.

The organization was started in conjunction by Chris MacCarron and comedian Tim Conway. Best known for his roles on the Carroll Burnett and McHale’s Navy, Conway wanted to donate his fee for a show at Canterbury Downs to a fund for disabled jockeys. The only problem was that no such fund existed at the time. Conway’s donation of $5k helped kick the MacBeth fund off.

The money he donated and the money donated by people everyday is used for many purposes. Some is allocated to help pay the rent for injured jockeys, or to buy expensive medical equipment. Some of the funds are used to help making homes wheel chair accessible. Money is also used for little things like food. The fund has aided over 1,000 jockeys and is typically helping 40-50 during any given month.

Jockeys are constantly facing life and death situations. Michael Straight was recently paralyzed during a race at Arlington Park. Ron Turcotte, regular pilot of Triple Crown legend Secretariat, is also paralyzed. Unfortunately there are plenty of other examples. Jockeys are at a higher risk of dying than any other athlete. This is easy to believe since they are balancing themselves on a 1,000 pound animal going at speeds of 35-40 MPH.

I’ve donated to the fund in the past and plan to do so again when I graduate college and have more disposable funds. I highly encourage anyone to donate to help the men who help make our sport go and put their lives on the line every time they step in the irons. Click here to learn more!