Tim Conway Coming to KY Horse Park
Saturday, March 18, 2006
LEXINGTON, KY (March 16, 2006) Actor/comedian Tim Conway is sure to have the audience in stitches as he plays emcee at the MacBeth Fund Celebrity Team Penning, April 11 at the Kentucky Horse Park to raise money for the Don Macbeth Memorial Jockey Fund to assist injured and disabled jockeys.
John Nicholson, Executive Director of the park observed, “Tim Conway is one of the best-loved comedians in the country. The combination of great comedy with an exciting sport for a worthy cause will be a guaranteed hit with our audience that night.”
Team penning is one of least-known, yet fastest-growing equine sports in the country. So what is it? Thirty cows, numbered from 0 through 9, stand at one end of an arena. There are three number 0s, three number 1s, etc. Three riders enter the other end of the arena and proceed to the start line. When the timekeeper calls the start, the riders are given a number, 5 for example. They then have to remove all three number 5s from the herd and move them down to the other end of the arena and put them into a pen. The team with the quickest time wins the event.
On April 11, celebrity jockeys such as Hall of Fame member Chris McCarron, will partner with two paying patrons (the cost to ride on a team is $300 per person – tax deductible donation) to demonstrate their team penning skills at the Kentucky Horse Park.
As part of the fundraising event, a cocktail reception with Tim Conway will be available for $50 per person (advance purchase only). General admission is $10 (12 and under free of charge) available at the door.
The evening will benefit injured and disabled jockeys and exercise riders. An ambulance follows the horses around the track during every race in the U.S. -- clearly a sign that race riding is a very dangerous profession. The potential for injury to a 100-pound rider in a field of unpredictable, tightly packed, 1000-pound horses, going about 35mph, is very real. An accident can occur in an instant that changes a life forever. Almost every jockey riding today has broken bones and has had a brush with death. Some of them return from their injuries to ride again. Others have to settle for a wheelchair.
The Don MacBeth Memorial Jockey Fund helps many of these injured riders in ways such as paying the rent while a rider recovers and purchasing medical equipment needed by permanently disabled riders. The fund has made a substantial difference in the lives of many grateful jockeys and their families
Gates open at 5pm and the event begins at 6:30pm. Anyone interested in riding should contact Tony DeFranco at 310-550-4542 or Judy and Chris McCarron at 859-293-2743. Please visit www.macbethfund.org for more information.
Park Hours and Rates: From March 15-October 31, the park is open seven days a week. Admission is $15 for adults, $8 for children 7-12. Children six and under are always admitted free of charge. Admission includes the American Saddlebred Museum.
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