When Rivervale resident Jackie Fires accepted a $500,000. check to be used by the Permanently Disable Jockey's Fund (PDLF), a charity of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the Friday before the running of the Preakness, the second leg of the Triple Crown, May 17, it was obviously something which was close to his heart. Fires, a former jockey, was permanently disabled in Cincinnati on May 17, 1977 when a horse he was working with rolled on him badly injuring his spinal chord.

"It didn't cut it," said Fires from his wheelchair at his home in Rivervale. "But it crushed it enough that I don't have any use from about my chest down."

At the time of his accident, Fires had five years and nearly 300 races under his belt and was well on his way to following in the footsteps of his brother, Earlie. The elder Fires had 6447 wins to his credit as of Sunday, June 1 putting him just three wins short of taking over 9th place from Sandy Hawley. Earlie is one of five Fires brothers who are still active in racing in one phase or another.

"I tried to ride some after the accident," said Fires. "But I was just holding onto the horn to keep from falling. I never did get a special saddle made or anything."

He acknowledge that it would be far more dangerous to try to ride in his present condition. Even with his disability, though, Fires stays busy around his home where horses and cattle still can be seen racing and roaming around the fenced property.

Fires and his wife Janie, an employee of Ritter and Company, have been married for 25 years. They have two daughters, Donna, who is pharmacy school in Little Rock, and Casey who works for First Delta Bank in Marked Tree.

Kentucky Derby Day promotion

While corporate sponsorship is quite common in many sports such as NASCAR, jockey sponsorship has never been approved by the owners and stables.

"The owners never wanted the jockeys to wear endorsements," said Fires. "But it kind of came to a head in 2004 when Smarty Jones was running."

California approved the use of endorsements for jockeys, recognizing the need for additional income for most jockeys who have a hard time making ends meet in many cases. The rest of the country held to the old ways, though, refusing to let the jockeys emblazon advertising on their silks.

But then in stepped Richard T. Santulli.

Santulli, the chairman and CEO of NetJets, Inc. a timeshare company for corporate jets, and involved in thoroughbred racing for 24 years, decided to make an innovative move.

Recognizing the need for additional help for disabled jockeys, Santulli along with the Jockeys'

Guild, Churchill Downs and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) facilitated a Kentucky Derby Day promotion to raise money for the fund.

NetJets sponsored each of the 20 jockeys in the May 3 Kentucky Derby for $10,000 each, the NetJets logo running down the side of each jockey's leg by agreement with the owners and Churchill Downs. By previous agreement, each jockey donated this money to the PDJF. The total of $200,000. was matched by a $100,000. corporate donation from NetJets and another $100,000. personal donation from Santulli himself. Finally another $100,000. was donated by Bill Casner, chairman of the TOBA to bring the total to $500,000.

The gift is the largest ever in the two year history of the PDJF which has raised $2.5 million while distributing $1.4 million to needy individuals in that time.

"It is a significant donation that will help those with life-altering disabilities due to injury," said Fires at the presentation. "I'd personally like to thank Mr. Santulli and Mr. Casner. I'd also like thank Churchill Downs and the owners of the Derby horses for their cooperation."

Preakness donations

During the running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore the day following the presentation to Fires and the PDJF, the 12 jockeys again wore the sponsored logo of Net Jets. They split the money this time between the PDJF and the Grayson-Jockey Club Research foundation.

Also in the race the jockeys wore a memorial to Eight Belles, the filly who broke down at the finish line of the Derby resulting in her having to be euthanized eight on the track.

In the Belmont Stakes in New York Saturday, according to Fires, the jockeys will be wearing the number "57" to honor the number of disabled jockeys there are.

Big Brown

With history possibly set to be made Saturday when Big Brown tries to become the 12th winner of all three races, it was understandable that Fires had an opinion of the race.

"Big Brown will gallop," said Fires. "I haven't seen a horse with that type of acceleration in a long time."

When asked how the undefeated three year old compared to the horses such as Secretariat, he was somewhat hesitant to put Big Brown in the category of the 1973 winner.

"I think he's right in there in the category with Seattle Slew, though," said Fires of the 1977 Triple Crown winner. "Everyone is saying this is a weak year and that's what they said with Seattle Slew. But they've shown how good they were. 'The Slew' is considered one of the best there ever was."

Fires, who ran his first race in California at Santa Anita and won his first race at Oaklawn in Hot Springs has ridden against some of the greatest jockey's of all time such as Laffit Pincay, Jr. and Willie Shoemaker, the winningest jockey of all time. No doubt he wishes his career hadn't ended so soon so that maybe he could be closing in on brother Earlie's win mark. But it's unlikely anyone will hear Jackie Fires lament about what might have been. And his ready smile and a winning nature will make him the perfect choice to represent the PDJF and jockeys in general for a long time to come.