American Pharoah's jockey is donating all of his winnings to cancer research

Updated
Life After the Triple Crown: American Pharoah Set to Retire
Life After the Triple Crown: American Pharoah Set to Retire




By JOHN DORN

Jockey Victor Espinoza has always donated 10 percent of his race winnings to cancer foundation City of Hope. But after winning the first horse racing Triple Crown since 1978 atop American Pharoah, Espinoza is increasing that donation 10-fold.

He's forking over 100 percent of his earnings to the foundation, while the horse's trainer Bob Baffert and his wife Jill donated $50,000 to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund. The Bafferts also contributed $50,000 to the California Retirement Management Account (CARMA), charity committed to raising money for retired California racehorses, according to the Courier-Journal.

After the victory, Espinoza said:

"At the wire I was like, 'I cannot believe I did it. I (won) the Triple Crown race now, but I didn't make any money, because I donated my money to the City of Hope."

Thankfully, the first Triple Crown winner in decades is benefitting more than the sport alone.


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American Pharoah owner gets gambling suit dismissed


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