Brook T. Smith, owner of Kentucky Derby favorite and Blue Grass Stakes winner Sierra Leone, is a long-time supporter of the Backside Learning Center (BLC). The BLC is an independent non-profit organization that provides support and resources for the diverse community of Churchill Downs racetrack workers and their families. If Sierra Leone won the Derby, Smith pledged $100,000 to the BLC.
Giving Back Through Purses For A Purpose
In LEO's coverage of Gallopalooza 2024 — for which, Louisville-based artist Sara Noori collaborated with backside workers to create a pattern of handprints on the horse sculpture sponsored by the BLC — executive director of the BLC Sherry Stanley discussed ways in which "the most exciting two minutes in sports" requires 365 days of labor. Much of that labor is unseen and under-appreciated. "There are people back here working in the stable area 10 months out of the year," she said. "And at the Trackside Training Center off Poplar Level, 12 months out of the year."Throughout the year, the BLC schedules classes that offer educational support, like English learning for adults and youth. Other programs provide workers and their families with services that range from housing support and transportation access, to legal advocacy and community financial resources. The BLC facilitates a parent support group called El Grupo De Mamás (The Mom's Group), which centers the importance of literacy in early childhood education. For tweens and teens, the BLC offers youth-specific health and wellness services, like therapeutic recreation and excursions outside Louisville. Since opening its doors in 2004, the community center at the BLC has become a home away from home for its staff, instructors, and volunteers, as well as for backside and trackside workers.
Smith's support of the BLC is measurable: he helped develop the Purses for a Purpose program that fortifies the BLC's efforts to more directly connect horse owners to the backside community. For Smith, racehorse ownership carries with it an obligation to support the people who make it all happen. Giving back through Purses for a Purpose accelerates that support. Funds from the initiative go directly to programming at the BLC, which include language learning opportunities, artmaking, and human services.
In addition to the standard percentage of purse earnings that Brook automatically donates to the BLC through Purses for a Purpose, if Sierra Leone had won the 150th Kentucky Derby, Smith promised an additional $100,000 to the BLC.
Smith says he has a challenge for other horse owners this year. "If we can get 150 owners, and 150 horses for that matter, and they pledge to donate 1% of purse winnings with these 150 horses, that moves a bigger needle than people realize." Beyond the actual dollar amount — which is considerable — Smiths says, "it means a lot, the thought that the owners think about the backside, and those who support it." Smith's challenge has already inspired trainer Cherie DeVaux, and Bloodstock agent David Ingordo to include weekend stakes contenders in BLC's Purses for a Purpose initiative. DeVaux and Ingordo have pledged as much as $10,000 of purse winnings from all seven of their horses running in races between opening day and the Kentucky Derby. Of these seven horses, three are running in graded stakes races (a thoroughbred horse race that meets the criteria of the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association): Vahva (GI Derby City Distaff Stakes), Pipeline (GII Alysheba Stakes) and Medalla Match (GIII Unbridled Sidney Stakes.) "We encourage other owners, trainers, jockeys and bloodstock agents to also find a way to contribute to [the BLC] and the great work it does for our racetrack families," says Ingordo.
Benefiting The Backside Community
The BLC was "ecstatic" for Sierra Leone to represent the Purses for a Purpose team in the Kentucky Derby. "We're so fortunate to have Brook Smith advocating for the BLC's mission as we work directly with the backbone of the horseracing industry," says Stanley. "Now that the BLC has a horse in the Derby, we hope this gives more exposure to the community making it all happen."Peyton Hobson, Communications and Marketing Manager at the BLC emphasizes the importance of Purses for a Purpose. "It connects horse owners to the transformative work we do with Backside workers and their families, who are the backbone of the industry," says Hobson. "To say we're excited is an understatement. Not only do we have a horse on our team that is an actual Derby contender, he happens to be the favorite!"
This initiative exemplifies the power of not only philanthropy, but also of collective action, to cultivate a better future for the Backside community. Hobson says thanks to Brook and his pledge, "backside workers, and their critical role — in making not just the Derby happen but as the lifeblood of the entire industry — is finally getting talked about."
Sierra Leone's didn't win the Derby but came in second, that could still benefit the community who make it all possible. And that will be as historic and memorable as the race itself.
