NTRA hands out $2.25M to charity for 9/11 causes

NEW YORK - The National Thoroughbred Racing Association passed out checks totaling $2.25 million to 11 charitable organizations connected to the Sept. 11 attacks at a lunch in midtown Manhattan on Thursday.

Among the biggest beneficiaries were the Silver Shield Foundation, which provides aid for children of deceased firefighters and policemen within a 50-mile radius of New York City; the Twin Towers Fund, set up after the Sept. 11 attacks to assist the families of deceased New York City employees; the New York State World Trade Center Relief Fund; and the New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund. The Silver Shield Foundation received a check for $500,000; the others received checks for $250,000 to add to previous $250,000 distributions.

The NTRA set up the fund after the Sept. 11 attacks as a way to funnel charity from the Thoroughbred industry into one fund. Among the donors were Shiekh Mohammed al Maktoum's Godolphin Stable, which donated $2 million in purse earnings from the World Thoroughbred Championships, and Florida owner-breeder Harry Mangurian, who donated $1 million. The fund raised $5 million, NTRA officials said.

Charities that received $150,000 checks Thursday were the Diocese of Rockville Centre Emergency Relief Fund; Garden City Community Fund; World Trade Center Port Authority Memorial Fund; Salvation Army of Greater New York; New York Times 9/11 Neediest Fund; and Disaster Relief Fund. The Port Authority Police World Trade Disaster Survivors' Fund received $100,000