While not as perpetually lethal as its most ardent detractors make it out to be, horse racing can be a dangerous sport. Any time you put a petite person atop a 1,000-pound thoroughbred traveling upwards of 30 miles per hour while navigating heavy traffic amid steeds of similar speed and stature, things can get hairy.

Rare is the jockey who will not suffer some sort of serious injury through the course of their career. Rarer still — and many times more tragic — are the jockeys who are permanently disabled as a result of a nasty spill while in the reins.

This is where the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund comes in.

Founded in 2006, the PDJF is a 501(c)3 charity that provides financial assistance to former jockeys who have suffered on-track injuries. Since its inception, the organization has dispersed $14 million to disabled jockeys in need, and for the past six years, it has benefited from $1.5 million raised through a telethon that will air April 21 from 12-6 p.m. ET on FanDuel TV and FOX Sports. (It will also stream on TVG.com, and direct donations can be made online.)

Famous jockeys set to participate

The telethon will feature the participation of such legendary retired jockeys as Steve Cauthen, Sandy Hawley, Kaoru Tsuchiya-Hawley, Chris McCarron, Donna Barton Brothers, Mike Manganello, Alex Solis, and Shane Sellers, as well as active members of Keeneland’s jockey colony.

“This telethon not only raises awareness of the charity but helps the general racing public understand its mission of providing much-needed monthly financial assistance to the approximately 60 riders who have sustained catastrophic on-track injuries such as paralysis, brain injuries, or both,” said Jockeys’ Guild President and CEO Terry Meyocks in a press release. “With no guaranteed funding from the racing industry, this telethon is the major yearly fundraiser for the organization.”

Besides FanDuel, FOX, and Keeneland, Santa Anita Park and the New York Racing Association are among the telethon’s top-line sponsors.

“The annual telethon is a major fundraiser for the PDJF to help meet our financial goals,” said PDJF President Nancy LaSala. “On this afternoon, it also touches the hearts of our recipients with great pride of the profession they chose, when they watch jockeys from the past and present take phone calls from the greatest sports fans any sport could have.”

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