Jim McIngvale

The ninth annual Jockeys and Jeans fundraiser at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas June 24 to benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) set a record of over $400,000, the organization said in a release Thursday. The previous record was $340,000 last year at Churchill Downs. To-date, the total raised by the group is $3.1 million, including the $110,000 accepted during the 2022 stallion season sale. "It is impossible to sufficiently thank all the staff who at the beginning promised to 'Vegas-Size' the event," said Jockeys and Jeans President Barry...

The ninth annual Jockeys and Jeans fundraiser for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) will feature a live streamed speech from Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale, the Jockeys and Jeans Person of the Year. The speech will be broadcast from Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas this coming Saturday, June 24, at 8:30 p.m. PT/11:30 p.m. ET on the Jockeys and Jeans Facebook page. "Mattress Mack has always advocated for the safety of riders and horses and is one of very few who understands horse racing from the perspective of an owner,...

Jim McIngvale (Mattress Mack) made history when the Houston Astros won the World Series. He made bets that returned $75 million when they won, the largest win ever in the history of sports betting. The bets were tied into a promotion McIngvale has used many times at his Gallery Furniture Stores in Houston. If he wins the bet, his customers get free mattresses. He's great at getting publicity for himself and his stores, but never had he seen anything like what happened with this bet, the story of which became...

Kiaran McLaughlin will be presented with the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters' Bill Mooney Award for displaying courage in the face of tremendous adversity. McLaughlin, long a leading trainer, has battled multiple sclerosis for more than two decades. "I'm incredibly honored to receive this award," said McLaughlin, who currently works as a jockey's agent for Luis Saez. McLaughlin joins four prior Mooney winners--the award's namesake who died after a long battle with cancer in 2017, retired jockey Joy Scott, retired jockey and owner Rene Douglas and horsewoman Martine Bellocq. "It's...

Thoroughbred owner and breeder Jim McIngvale will be honored along with Eclipse Award-winning photographer Barbara Livingston, broadcaster Chris Lincoln and turf writers Tom Pedulla and Mike Welsch during the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters' 62nd annual Awards Dinner on Wednesday, Nov. 2 in Lexington. The NTWAB Awards Dinner is the organization's only fundraiser, and a portion of the proceeds of the event will fund Thoroughbred industry charities and internships for prospective racing journalists. The 2022 NTWAB Awards Dinner will be held at Malone's Prime in Lexington. McIngvale, widely known as...

Alex Bregman was 0-for-4 last Thursday night as the Houston Astros fell, 5-1, to the Texas Rangers, but the two-time All-Star will remember the day as one of the best he's ever enjoyed in sports. A few hours before the Astros took the field at Minute Maid Park, Bregman won his first-ever race as an owner with the first horse he had ever run. The feat was accomplished by Cadillac Candy (Twirling Candy) in the first race at Churchill Downs, a five-furlong turf maiden for two-year-olds. "It felt like hitting...

Edited Press Release The Backside Learning Center at Churchill Downs stands to gain anywhere between $200,000 and $400,000 based on the results of Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby beneath the Twin Spires. In January, Brook Smith--a longtime supporter of the BLC--placed a $10,000 Kentucky Derby Future Wager on Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb), pledging any winnings to the center. A Derby victory would be worth $114,000. Smith's wager was a friendly challenge to Texas-based businessman and famed sports bettor "Mattress Mack" Jim McIngvale's Future Wager bet for the same...

After placing a losing win bet of more than $2 million on Essential Quality (Tapit) in last year's GI Kentucky Derby, Jim "Mattress Mack" is coming back for more. McIngvale said that he is planning to bet between $3 million and $4 million this year on the race favorite. McIngvale has often linked huge bets on sporting events such as the World Series, the NCAA tournament, the Super Bowl and the Derby to promotions at his Gallery Furniture stores in Houston. If the favorite wins the Derby, McIngvale will issue...

The fourth annual Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund TVG Telethon, held Apr. 10 and presented by Lane's End Farm, raised a record-breaking $383,945. The 2020 event was cancelled due to the pandemic, but it returned in 2021 to raise $339,672 in donations. Support came in from across the country including major contributions from Lane's End Farm; Lee, Aimee and Jeffrey Einsidler; Jim McIngvale; and John Hendrickson on behalf of the Marylou Whitney Foundation. TVG's parent company FanDuel matched all donations up to $100,000. This year was also the first time the...

The chart of the GII Risen Star S. run Saturday at the Fair Grounds will show you that the race was won by Epicenter (Not This Time) and that runner-up Smile Happy (Runhappy) was never a serious threat to win. It's just that there is a lot more to this story. Expectations were high for Smile Happy coming into the Risen Star. He was 2-for-2 last year and his win in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. came at the expense of Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway) and White Abarrio (Race...

Owner Brook Smith admits that his wager--a $10,000 Derby Future Wager bet on Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb) at 10-1--was not the smartest bet he's ever made. But that's not the point. The bet was meant to raise awareness for the Backside Learning Center at Churchill Downs and, who knows, perhaps make over $100,000 for an organization that is meeting the many needs of the track's backstretch workers. Smith, who operates the Rocket Ship Racing, LLC, stable, has been a longtime supporter of the backstretch center and helped...

The Texas Thoroughbred Association (TTA) has released a video honoring its 2020 Texas Champion racehorses as well as its human award winners. Under normal circumstances, an in-person awards ceremony would be held, but the continuing COVID-19 pandemic forced officials to cancel those plans. "While we are disappointed in not having an awards ceremony this year, we are proud of the accomplishments of Texas-breds and Texas horsemen last year, and we are pleased to honor them with this video," said Mary Ruyle, executive director of the TTA. "Congratulations go out to...