Not That Brady (Big Brown), owned by Michael Imperio, Lianna Stables and trainer Rudy Rodriguez, will also be racing to benefit the Belmont Child Care Association when he runs in the Mar. 9 GIII Gotham S. at Aqueduct. The owners have committed 10% of the colt's Gotham earnings to BCCA.
“My husband [Michael] and I thought it would be a great way to give back and it's something a lot of other owners do,” said BCCA President Libby Imperio. “Barbara Banke has always been very generous donating percentages of her horses' earnings to various charities, and Charlotte Weber and the New York Women's Foundation has also been extremely generous to backstretch charities. We want 'Brady' to run for the kids, but we want him to run for everybody.”
When the news broke on Twitter Saturday, Jimmy Riccio, agent for Not That Brady's jockey Reylu Gutierrez, joined in with a 25% donation. The 23-year-old jockey quickly jumped in as well, matching his agent's donation.
“The backstretch is a very tight-knit community,” Gutierrez said. “The Belmont backstretch is a little bigger than the Finger Lakes community where I grew up. I learned how to be a good person on the backstretch. If you're willing to listen, I think the backside workers, the blue-collar people, the grooms who work every day in the toughest conditions will show you what it's like to come from the bottom up. And that's why the kids on the backside, with their families who are working so hard, deserve our support. Anything I can do to help a guy or girl from the backside, and I've been there, I'm willing to help out.”
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