Smith to raise funds at Ruidoso for disabled jockeys

Triple Crown-winning rider Mike Smith will make an appearance at Ruidoso Downs in his home state of New Mexico on July 8, the track announced Sunday morning. Smith will be meeting with the public and signing posters to raise funds for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund.

Justify and Smith completed a sweep of the Triple Crown on June 9, when the two won the Belmont Stakes. Justify is the 13th horse in history to win the Triple Crown. Smith, a 52-year-old native of Roswell, N.M., became the oldest rider to sweep the series, according to a press release from Ruidoso.

"Mike is a global celebrity now and we are honored by his willingness to come to Ruidoso Downs to share his Triple Crown celebration with us," Jeff True, president and general manager of Ruidoso, said in the press release. "He is a wonderful ambassador of our sport and he never forgets where he came from.

"He told me his family will fill half the grandstand, so we’re going to welcome them and all the other racing fans in New Mexico that day to celebrate his amazing accomplishment."

The press release noted Smith, a Hall of Fame rider, mentioned Ruidoso in a post-race interview with NBC following the Belmont Stakes.

“He left [the gate] like he was at Ruidoso going 440 yards,” Smith said.

In the same interview, Smith acknowledged racing’s disabled jockeys, and on July 8 at Ruidoso all proceeds from the sale of custom posters of Justify and Smith winning the Belmont Stakes will benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund. The posters will cost $10.

An additional 100 posters will be sold for $25 each at Ruidoso and Smith will autograph those for buyers in a session to be held on the east end of the grandstand. The proceeds from the sale of those posters also will go to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund.

In another element of his visit, Smith will lead the post parade for the seventh race at Ruidoso.