|
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY: Legendary jockey Pat Day has another trophy to
add to his extensive collection.
Day, who announced his retirement in August after a storied 32-year
career on the thoroughbred racing circuit, received a Lifetime Achievement
Award from Kentucky Farm Bureau Insurance Cos. to recognize his contribution
to the sport.
The presentation was made during the annual Kentucky Athletic Hall of
Fame banquet and induction ceremonies. The insurance company sponsors
the Hall of Fame, with proceeds from fund-raising events supporting Kosair
Charities’s programs that finance medical care for children.
“It is a special way to say, ‘Thank you,’ to a world-renowned
athlete and a favored son of Kentucky,” said Steve McCormick, director
of administrative services at Kentucky Farm Bureau.
Day, winner of the 1992 Kentucky Derby aboard Lil E. Tee, was a crowd
favorite at Churchill Downs – where he rode in 21 consecutive Derbies
- and Keeneland Race Course. He also was popular with owners and trainers
as his mounts earned a record $297.9 million.
In addition to the Derby, Day rode his way into the Racing Hall of Fame
with victories in most of the sport’s premier events, including
the Kentucky Oaks, Preakness, Belmont and Breeder’s Cup Classic.
He also received racing’s top award, the Eclipse, several times
throughout his career. Day plans to now devote his time to the Racetrack
Chaplaincy of America.
Farm Bureau Insurance Executive Vice President Roger Simpson presented
Day with a horse-themed etched glass bowl designed by noted glass artist
Stephen Schlanser before the introduction of eight new hall-of-fame inductees.
Joining Day, who was inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame
in 2000, as members during the September ceremonies was the entire 10-man
squad of the 1975 American Basketball Association champion Kentucky Colonels
and their coaches, Hubie Brown and Stan Albeck.
Louie Dampier and Dan Issel, former University of Kentucky stars who
were part of the 1975 Colonels championship, were inducted in 1990, but
no other team has been selected previously. “This recognizes that
basketball is a team sport,” said Hall of Fame president Jim Ellis.
Teammates joining Dampier and Issel as 2005 inductees were Artis Gilmore,
who scored 28 points and brought down 31 rebounds in the ABA championship
game; Wil Jones; Teddy McClain; Marvin Roberts; Ron Thomas; Bird Averitt;
Gene Littles; and Jim Bradley.
D. Wayne Lukas was the newest racing great added to the Kentucky Athletic
Hall of Fame. Lukas, also a multiple Eclipse Award winner, has saddled
13 Triple Crown winners, including four Kentucky Derby champions —
Winning Colors (1988), Thunder Gulch (1995), Grindstone (1996) and Charismatic
(1999). He has won the Preakness five times and the Belmont four times,
and has trained four Kentucky Oaks champions.
Other inductees into the 2005 Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame were:
- Dr. Bob Davis, former basketball coach at Georgetown College and Auburn
University.
- Woodie Fryman, a Fleming County native who pitched for five professional
baseball teams - the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit
Tigers, Montreal Expos and Cincinnati Reds — before retiring in
1983 after 18 years in the majors.
- Two-time national Amateur Athletic Union heavyweight champion Greg Page,
a Louisville Central High School graduate who boxed his way to the World
Boxing Association title in 1984 at the age of 26.
- Graves County native Adrian “Odie” Smith, who started for
UK in the 1958 NCAA championship win over Elgin Baylor’s Seattle
team at Freedom Hall. He was the fifth-leading scorer on the 1960 U.S.
Olympic squad that included Jerry West, Jerry Lucas, Walt Bellamy and
Terry Dischinger.
- Former UK football standout Art Still, a defensive end who led the
Wildcats to a 10-1 record (undefeated in the Southeastern Conference),
a No. 6 national ranking and was named a first-team All- American. He spent 12
years in the NFL, where he was selected to play in the Pro Bowl four times
and was named the MVP of the Kansas City Chiefs in 1980 and 1984.
- DeJuan Wheat, who made NCAA history at the University of Louisville
by being the first collegiate basketball player to record more than 2,000
points (300 from three-point attempts), 450 assists and 200 steals.
-30-
|
