Injured Jockeys Fund

Who They Are

The Injured Jockey fund provides assistance, financial and pastoral to over a thousand Jockeys, including their dependants, who have suffered through injury and are unable to ride.

Some well-known, and other less well-known jockeys, have been helped in many ways during the past year. This work also includes support for spouses and other dependants, our aim being to alleviate financial problems and, in some sad cases, to restore dignity to the lives of some who have fallen on particularly hard times.

The Fund has responded quickly this year to all cases, where help is required. Individual circumstances tend to be quite different and thus require different levels and types of support. Whatever the need, the IJF will always ensure the closest of care and attention.

However, the majority of cases involve help to many jockeys whose names would not necessarily be recalled by the average race goer. In fact, over one in four cases are more 'stable staff' than 'jockey'. Typically, their retirement from race riding will have been enforced by injury but they stayed working in racing yards.

Why They Need Donations

Although the fund does receive donations, the work and people they help is ever expanding. Each donation will go towards new projects to help those affected such as:

• a purpose-built home for injured jockeys or their widows - to take the sting out of loneliness and old age
• sheltered accommodation with on-site medical care for older injured jockeys
• a hospice for racing's terminally ill
• a cure for spinal cord injury
• a sports fund to give disabled injured jockeys an outlet for their competitive instincts - possibly even the chance to compete in the Para-Olympics
• more sophisticated wheelchairs
• more annual holidays
• more physiotherapy provision, to ease the pain of old injuries in ageing jockeys
• more encouragement to jockeys to plan ahead for second careers
• more visitors, so that every beneficiary gets at least one weekly visit, some companionship, a chance to watch racing and talk about the old days.

What the money goes towards?

• Wheelchairs, both manual and electric
• Help with education where a jockey's child has special needs
• Transport for the old and infirm
• Medical advice and treatment
• Contributions to Private Medical Insurance
• Emergency cash
• Retraining opportunities - through the Jockeys Employment & Training Scheme (JETS)
• Seven flats in Newmarket
• Televisions for older injured jockeys

What the money goes towards?

The Injured Jockeys Fund has been regularly put forward by the members as a popular candidate for donation with so many of our members enjoying watching and betting on horse racing.  It is important to OLBG to give something back to the people of the industry, and The injured Jockeys Fund is ideal.

The money will go to the real hard working people who have been injured or suffered whilst working hard for the sport we enjoy.

We would like to thank everyone for their continued support towards the OLBG.com member's charity donation scheme.

For more information please visit The Injured Jockeys Fund