Saratoga Springs

PDJF Awareness Day at Saratoga to feature jockey autograph session

Jockey Tyler Gaffalione signs autographs for a fan after the 4th race at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs on Saturday, August 21, 2021.
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Jockey Tyler Gaffalione signs autographs for a fan after the 4th race at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs on Saturday, August 21, 2021.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Uniting with racetracks across the country to support Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund Day, riders competing at Saratoga Race Course will participate in a host of activities on Saturday 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. Passed by 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. 

Categories: -Sports-, At The Track

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