Deceased HOF Jockeys To Be Honored At Jockeys And Jeans Event

[Wandering Eyes]

The late Hall of Fame jockeys Walter Blum, John Rotz and Bobby Ussery will be honored at the 10th annual Jockeys and Jeans Fundraiser for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) to be held Saturday, Jan. 11, at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida.

Blum was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of a newspaper delivery person, and was inducted into the Jewish Hall of Fame in 1986 and into the National Museum of Racing the following year. The recipient of the 1964 George Woolfe Memorial Jockey Award, he became president of the Jockeys' Guild until he retired in 1974. Blum, winner of nearly 4400 races, passed away in March 2024.

Rotz joined racing's hall of fame in 1983, riding such stars as Carry Back, Ta Wee, Dr. Fager and In Reality. Rotz took a controversial running of the Preakness Stakes in 1962 and added the 1970 Belmont Stakes. Rotz died in Illinois in July 2021.

Bobby Ussery passed away in November 2023 at his home in Hollywood, Florida, and his ashes were scattered across the Gulfstream Park winner's circle earlier this year. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1980, Ussery won the 1960 Preakness Stakes and the Kentucky Derby back-to-back in 1967 and 1968, the latter aboard the subsequently famously disqualified Dancers Image.

All three won the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park, the site of the upcoming Jockeys and Jeans event. It will include videos of each of the three riders and a commemorative plaque presented to special people in their lives.

Tickets for the event can be purchased here.

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