In Search of Signatures: Memorabilia for a Worthy Cause

Dr. Kenny Katz, a Long Island podiatrist and horse owner, met jockey Eibar Coa at Gulfstream Park a few minutes before his career ended with a spill. Katz said the event changed his life. It also helped change the lives of several permanently disabled jockeys.

The Jockey and Jeans Select Sale of stallion seasons at Fasig-Tipton in Lexington Friday, Dec. 1 to benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund will include two posters that took Katz and his friend Harvey Kacer 18 months to produce. The first is a Hall of Fame poster signed by 52 of the 57 living jockey members. The second is a Kentucky Derby poster signed by 49 of the 57 living winning jockeys and trainers, plus six winning owners, including the late Penny Chenery.

The famed owner of Triple Crown winner Secretariat also signed several photos for the pair shortly before her death at 95 in September. Also for sale is a one of a kind photo of Chenery, taken at a press conference by famed photographer Buck Peters shortly before the ionic racehorse won the 1973 Marlboro Cup in world record time.

Katz and Kacer produced only 22 of the 16″ by 20″ Derby posters, and with six of the same size Hall of Fame posters promised to the Hall of Fame for using their logo, only 16 are available. At the Jockey Karaoke Party, at Saratoga in August, New York horseman Rick Violette Jr. bought a Kentucky Derby poster with a winning bid of $10,000.

But the project was not easy. Katz researched the potential signers, put their location on a map and figured out at which tracks they raced and when. For those retired, he made scores of phone calls, persuaded their friends to provide phone numbers and arranged signings. After obtaining some 40 signatures, he met Kacer at Belmont Park and the Manhattan financial firm worker offered to help. Katz, a survivor of Thyroid cancer, arranged for him to meet the rest, including Chenery.

Katz found Ronnie Franklin who rode 1979 Derby winner Spectacular Bid and arranged for him to come to the 2016 Jockeys and Jeans fundraiser at Parx Racing near Philadelphia. There, Franklin, who is battling cancer, signed the Derby poster. He arranged one signing at the Keeneland Library which gained eight signatures. One of those came from Gary Stevens, whose wife, Angie read about the project on Facebook and contacted Katz.

With Katz paying the freight, they traveled some 25,000 miles and visited seven tracks, including two Breeders' Cup locations and met with several signers at their homes. Each poster comes with a photo collage of the signings and a letter of authenticity from the PDJF. All proceeds go to PDJF. The Select Season Sales includes two other pieces of Katz's memorabilia. The online sale of stallion seasons ends on www.starquine.com Thursday at 8:00 p.m.

Katz is a committee member of Jockeys and Jeans. The group was founded by five former jockeys in 2014 to raise awareness of the dangers of race riding and raise funds for disabled riders as they rebuild their lives. They have raised over $715,000 and the posters alone are expected to generate some $200,000.

The need for the project was birthed Feb. 18, 2011 at Gulfstream Park, where Katz met Eibar Coa before a race and asked him to sign a book. A few minutes later, Coa's mount fell while pulling up after the race–a catastrophic spill that led to fractured vertebrae and the end of a career that included 4,050 wins. Coa is one of over 60 disabled jockeys who receive monthly benefits from PDJF.

“For a long time my wife Tina and I collected and donated memorabilia,” Katz said. “But with this project, I knew I could make a real impact. Seeing Coa get hurt triggered everything. I met him one minute and the next thing I see is an ambulance. It made me realize how fragile life is.”