2020 Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Whitmore on the track with Donna Brothers prior to the running of this year’s Sprint race. (Courtney Snow/Past The Wire)
To TAA Holiday Giving Campaign December 9th
Alex Kokka/TAA Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky.—As part of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA)’s month-long Holiday Giving Campaign, Donna Brothers has pledged to match all donations up to $2,500 made to the TAA on Dec. 9, 2022. Born with racing in her blood, Donna’s professional resume doesn’t stop at the track; she continues to shine a light on Thoroughbred aftercare.
“At the end of the day, our industry will be judged by how well we take care of our athletes,” said former jockey, author, and reporter for NBC Sports, Donna Brothers. “Not only while they are racing and ‘useful’ to us, but especially when they are most vulnerable: at the end of their racing careers. Many of these horses make thousands of dollars at the track, some make millions, but the reality is, they don’t really get a dime. Let’s make sure they’re taken care of.
“The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance is the only organization that both accredits aftercare organizations and raises money to fund them. Please join me in supporting our athletes.”
“Donna is unceasing in her efforts to support the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance and is always ready to participate in new fundraisers,” said TAA Operations Consultant, Stacie Clark Rogers. “We are so excited that Donna is pledging to match all donations today and to help the TAA not only raise funds for our accredited groups but raise awareness for the outstanding work they do.”
In addition to her $2,500 match donation, Brothers also donates 100% of the proceeds from her book “Inside Track: Inside Guide to Horse Racing” to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.
TAA’s Holiday Giving Campaign commenced November 29th and is scheduled to conclude New Year’s Eve. Those wishing to support the TAA, its 81 accredited organizations, and thousands of retired Thoroughbreds can donate through the TAA’s website or text DONATE to 56651. During the Holiday Giving Campaign, TAA is also offering donors the benefit of sending digital holiday cards to colleagues, friends, and loved ones.
Throughout the end of the year, the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance will continue to host special one-day only donation matches with some of horse racing’s biggest names. For more chances to double your donation, watch the TAA’s social media, website, and industry advertisements for the next Holiday Giving match day announcement.
To learn more and donate to the TAA’s Holiday Giving campaign, visit Holiday Giving Campaign
About Donna Brothers
Donna Barton Brothers was born with racing in her blood. In 1969 her mother, Patti Barton, was one of the first half-dozen women to be licensed as a jockey in the United States and she went on to become the leading female jockey in the U.S. throughout all of the years of her career. As Donna’s brother and sister had done before her, Donna went on to become a jockey as well, retiring in 1998 as the second leading female rider in the nation by money earned.
In 1998 she moved into the television side of horse racing and in 2000 started covering horse racing for NBC Sports. Since then, she has covered the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes, and Breeders’ Cup among many other Thoroughbred horse racing events and races and for NBC Sports. She has also covered the Hambletonian Stakes, the Kentucky Three Day Event, the World Equestrian Games, the AQHA World Championship Show, and Professional Bull Riding (PBR) for that network.
In 2001 she published Inside Track: Inside Guide to Horse Racing in an effort to help people understand (and, hopefully, love) the sports she loves so much.
She is also passionate about Thoroughbred aftercare and has been on the advisory board of the TAA since its inception. Brothers is a former executive board member for the Backside Learning Center at Churchill Downs and currently serves on the executive board of the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation and advisory boards of the Boy’s & Girl’s Haven’s Independence Readiness Program in Louisville, KY, and the University of Kentucky’s Jockey Equestrian Initiative.
To learn more about Donna Brothers, visit DonnaBrothers.com.
About the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance
Based in Lexington, KY, the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that accredits, inspects, and awards grants to approved aftercare organizations to retrain, retire, and rehome Thoroughbreds using industry-wide funding. Along with continued funding from its original partners Breeders’ Cup, The Jockey Club, and Keeneland Association, the TAA is supported by owners, trainers, breeders, racetracks, aftercare professionals, and other industry members. Since inception in 2012, the TAA has granted more than $28.1 million to accredited aftercare organizations. Currently 81 aftercare organizations comprised of approximately 180 facilities across North America have been granted accreditation. To learn more about the TAA, visit ThoroughbredAftercare.org.
