USA: A charity which supports Churchill Downs’s backstretch workers will reap a six- figure windfall whatever the outcome of Saturday’s 148th Kentucky Derby – thanks to the generosity of philanthropic horse owners.
The Backside Learning Center is assured of gaining $200,000 and could receive as much $400,000 as a result of commitments made by ‘Bourbon’ Brook Smith, ‘Mattress Mack’ Jim McIngvale and Mike Mackin, whose family own Kentucky Derby challenger Smile Happy.
Smith has a $10,000 win bet at odds of 10-1 riding on Tiz The Bomb and McIngvale, the Texas furniture magnate and renowned sports gambler, bet the same amount on Smile Happy, with any winning proceeds to go to the BLC. Smile Happy is by his stallion Runhappy.
Yet McIngvale went a step further last month at a Louisville fundraiser when he pledged to donate $200,000 to the charity to sponsor summer-camp experiences for the children of backstretch workers if either the favorite or Smile Happy win the Kentucky Derby.
“The backside has helped so many people that put their heart and soul into the horseracing business,” McIngvale said. “If we can bring in money, resources and networks, we can help the backbone of the horse-racing industry—which are these hardworking people who are taking care of the animals 24/7.”
Smith then matched McIngvale by promising a separate sum of $200,000 if any horse other than the favorite or Smile Happy won, to which Mackin, part-owner of Lucky Seven Stable, committed another $200,000 if their horse triumphs.
“Mack said he’d give the Backside Learning Center $200,000 if Smile Happy won and I said we’d match it,” Mackin said. “I’m just starting to learn about the Backside Learning Center. But from what I’ve learned, they are doing great work in helping the people who care for our horses.”
Sherry Stanley, executive director of the BLC, said the sums being offered were a game-changer for the charity, which focuses on providing educational support, health and wellness and human services for a diverse community of racetrack workers and families.
“We cheer for all the Derby horses, but we’ll really be smiling happy if the Mackins’ horse wins,” she said.
• Visit the Backside Learning Center website
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