Friday, October 10, 2008

LEGENDS ON TOUR GALA SCHEDULED

ARCADIA, Calif. (Oct. 9, 2008)—A Living Legends gala event that will include dinner, dancing, cocktails, a silent auction, music, comedy and an opportunity to meet some of the greatest jockeys in the history of Thoroughbred racing will be held at Santa Anita Park on Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. and will serve as a prelude to Breeders’ Cup 25 at Santa Anita on Oct. 24 and 25.

The event, hosted by the Oak Tree Racing Association in conjunction with racing’s new Legends on Tour, also will include a silent auction to benefit Jockeys’ Choice Charities and will lead into the most prestigious race for retired jockeys in the history of the sport, the Living Legends Race, featuring live pari-mutuel wagering, on Oct. 18.


Eight Hall of Fame jockeys, Angel Cordero Jr., 65, Jacinto Vasquez, 64, Sandy Hawley, 59, Pat Day, 55, Chris McCarron, 53, Jerry Bailey, 51, Gary Stevens, 45, and Julie Krone, 45, will ride in the race, with each of their mounts assigned 126 pounds. Their average age is 55.

With live pari-mutuel wagering approved by the California Horse Racing Board, the race truly has the specter of being an Old-Timers Game that actually counts in the standings.

The combined career winnings of the eight competing Legends is more than $1.5 billion from 49,163 victories.

“Competitiveness is what we all have in common,” said Stevens, himself a winner of three Kentucky Derbies and eight Breeders’ Cup World Championship races and who currently works as an analyst for HRTV and NBC. “We love the sport and we’re all competitive athletes.”

Stevens retired in 2005 and portrayed the legendary jockey George Woolf in 2003’s highly acclaimed and Academy Award nominated feature film “Seabiscuit.”

Pat Day, who won one Kentucky Derby and 12 Breeders’ Cup races and amassed 8,803 career victories, echoed Stevens’ sentiments.

“These guys are all pumped up about this,” said Day. “I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to compete again, and just being around all these guys on tour has been very rewarding and a lot of fun.”

In addition to those legendary jockeys who will be competing, Hall of Fame jockeys Eddie Delahoussaye, Laffit Pincay Jr. and Jorge Velasquez will be involved as Living Legends Ambassadors and will all attend the Living Legends Gala on Oct. 17.

With the addition of these three retired all-time greats, the 11 retired Legends have amassed a total of 71,872 wins and nearly $2 billion in earnings.

“I can’t compete because of my injuries, but I can’t wait to see them in action again,” said Delahoussaye, who won 6,384 races, including two Kentucky Derbies and seven Breeders’ Cup races.

Cordero and Pincay have included many personal items for the silent auction on Oct. 17, including Cordero’s Breeders’ Cup jackets, signed by all participating jockeys at the time.

For ticket information on the Living Legends on Tour Gala at Santa Anita, call (818) 500-1649, or visit http://www.legendsontour.com.

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