Mellon Will Donate $1 Million to Equine Veterinary Research
Paul Mellon, owner-breeder of Kentucky Derby winner Sea Hero, will donate the $1-million Triple Crown bonus to the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation for equine veterinary research.
The Jockey Club chairman Ogden Mills Phipps made the announcement Saturday at Belmont Park.
Sea Hero won the bonus when Prairie Bayou, the Preakness winner, broke down in the Belmont Stakes on June 5 and had to be destroyed. After winning the Derby on May 1, Sea Hero was fifth in the Preakness and seventh in the Belmont.
Mellon, 85, made the endowment in honor of The Jockey Club’s 100th anniversary in 1994 in hopes that horsemen could raise $2 million more by the end of the year.
“We’re going to turn that hope into a challenge,” Phipps said. “This is an unprecedented opportunity to benefit veterinary research.”
Phipps said he was challenging The Jockey Club to match Mellon’s endowment and asking the racing industry to raise the other million.
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