GETTING LUCKY IN KENTUCKY? BC OR BUST DRIVE BEGINS AT KEENELAND
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009By Ray Paulick
With less than 24 hours to go before Brad Cummings and I make our first stop at Keeneland and then hit the road for two weeks on the BREEDERS’ CUP OR BUST FUNDRAISING ‘DRIVE’ to benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and The V Foundation for Cancer Research, I’m having similar thoughts to the ones I had in August when I was packing for an 18-hour flight to Cape Town, South Africa.
Namely, I’m wondering about my sanity.
Two weeks in the car with someone you love is tough (ever take a long road trip with the wife and kids?), but two weeks with a business associate you don’t really know that well magnifies the differences several times over. We do have some similarities and share common interests: we’re both male, were born in Illinois and have a passion for horse racing. But I think that’s about it.
In Chicago terms, I was a Northsider and he was from the South Side. I’m a Cubs fan, he likes the White Sox. I’m a Democrat, he’s a Republican. Come to think of it, I may need to check to see if I’ve got enough frequent flyer miles in my account if I need to bail out.
So all those things are running through my head when I get an email from someone I’d never met who writes to say she is a cancer survivor and is sending a $2,000 donation to support these two causes. “I’m looking forward to following your cross country pilgrimage on TVG!” she added in her note.
That kind of encouragement will sustain us through some long days, short nights and bad food. Because, in the end, this venture isn’t about us but about playing a small part in helping fund vital cancer research and providing assistance to jockeys who have been injured to the point they are permanently disabled and unable to do the daily tasks that so many of us take for granted.
We’ll have a lot of people to thank along the way, and the donations and sponsorships are already starting to come in. If you haven’t done so already, please consider a donation to these charities through our partner on this journey, Breeders’ Cup Charities. You can access their secured online donation site here. If you are interested in sponsoring a segment of the drive, drop us a note at info@paulickreport.com.
In the meantime, you can follow us each day here at the Paulick Report or on our exclusive media partner TVG’s daily program “The Morning Line.” We’ll also be making some afternoon appearances to report on our progress.
If you’re in Central Kentucky, you can tune in tonight to Dick Gabriel’s “Sports Nightly” radio show (WLAP, 630 AM from 6-8 p.m.) to hear more about the BREEDERS’ CUP OR BUST FUNDRAISING ‘DRIVE.’ I’ll be a guest on the show shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday at Keeneland, I’ll be pitting my rusty handicapping skills against Tom Leach, the radio voice of the Kentucky Wildcats, in an effort by both of us to cash some tickets on behalf of these charities.
And if you’re at Keeneland tomorrow, the jockeys there have been kind enough to hold an autograph line to support this cause. From 11:30-12:30, you can buy a Breeders’ Cup hat or visor for $15 and receive all the autographs you want from your favorite jocks. All proceeds go to Breeders’ Cup Charities.
If you’ve got a sure-fire winner at Keeneland Wednesday, please submit a comment below.
Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report
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