Each year, the jockeys at Horseshoe Indianapolis come together for a cause with special meaning.
Many of them grew up in households where gifts were scarce during the holidays. They are now enjoying successful careers in horse racing, so they want to ensure the kids of the local Court Appointed State Advocates (CASA) of Shelby County have presents to open each Christmas.
This year, more than 100 toys were collected for the cause by the jockeys, which is a new record number of items headed to children.
“This is really important to all of us to bring in toys for these kids,” said DeShawn Parker, who is now 19th on the list of all-time leading jockeys in Thoroughbred history with more than 6,100 career trips to the winner’s circle. “We see kids come to the track and always try to take time to talk to them, give them our goggles. We want to make sure all kids in this area have a great Christmas each year.”
Parker, along with Emmanuel Esquivel and Alberto Burgos, brought in the biggest loads of toys, ranging in ages from babies to pre-teens. A good mixture of items geared toward girls and boys were included in the six oversized bags headed to CASA.
“This drive is fun for us because we know we are putting smiles on the faces of many kids for Christmas,” added Burgos, who is in contention for his first leading jockey title this year at Horseshoe Indianapolis. “We are proud to be able to help out, and we participate as a group for this.”
Jockeys included in the presentation of toys included Walter Rodriguez, Alberto Burgos, Sammy Bermudez, DeShawn Parker, Oscar Villareal, Marcelino Pedroza Jr., Angel Serpa, Fernando De La Cruz, Santo Sanjur, Arcelio Flaco, Joe Ramos, Eddie Perez, and Evin Roman.
Several others donated to the cause but were not available for the presentation with Rachel McLaughlin, racing broadcast production manager, during the Tuesday racing program at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
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