Rehabilatation for Gary Birzer

[Bruddah]

You to can help
Take a moment to send an email to the Governor of West Virginia. He can give Gary an exemption under the Medicare laws of his state.

send it to Governor@WVgov.org

on the subject line simply write National Strike against Mountaineer and W. Virginia Looming.....then say what you want in the body. If thousands of emails with the same subject line are received, it will get their attention.

Take five minutes out of this day for Gary Birzer and his family......Would you want you and your family to be in this situation.?

[shanta]

Thanx for the link Bruddah. I just sent my letter in.
Richie

[Buddha]

http://www.drf.com/news/article/59300.html

Jockeys in BC are going to help Gary. Nice to see other jockeys helping him now.

[CryingForTheHorses]

Your a good guy BUDDA
Hopefully this yearscup can really help him out, Im sure some owners will hear about this and also pitch in.Glad the jocks are going to help him

[BillW]

Bruddah,

So as not to confuse his honor the govenor one small correction. It should be Medicaid, the state administered program and not Medicare, which is administered by the federal gov't.

Bill

[Suff]

Photos of Birzers Rehab. Tough spot. Lots to be grateful for when you see a guy trying to deal with this hand he's been dealt. Its good to see him in the batters box.....

http://sports.yahoo.com/rah/photo?slug=wvcd60211220035.jockeys_plight_wvcd602&prov=ap

http://sports.yahoo.com/rah/photo?slug=wvcd60111220034.jockeys_plight_wvcd601&prov=ap

[Suff]

Just by coincidence a Local Massachusetts paper Picked up an AP story on Birzer Today.

The Lowell Sun, Lowell MA, 11/26/04



http://www.lowellsun.com/Stories/0,1413,105~4767~2557382,00.html


The son and brother of jockeys, Birzer's first job was scrubbing out feed and water buckets, and rolling leg wraps at the track. At 5 feet and 110 pounds, the Hutchinson, Kan., native seemed a natural.

But while older brother Alex climbed into the irons at 17, Gary, who dropped out of school in 10th grade, wouldn't ride in his first race until he was 21. It was at Nebraska's Fonner Park and he fell off his mount.

Gary's propensity for falling early in his career was so bad that River Downs in Cincinnati eventually had to limit him to three falls per day. He was not deterred.

"The best way I can describe it is to ride your favorite roller coaster," Gary says with a gleam in his blue eyes. "You just want to keep going on it."

Gary met his wife, Amy, at River Downs, where she worked as a groom. The two were married in 1999, and she joined him on a circuit that would take them to Kentucky, Minnesota, Indiana and Suffolk Downs in Boston.

But the Birzers wanted a less nomadic life for their planned four children, so Gary decided to forego the big money and race year-round at Mountaineer.

All along, he had faithfully paid his $3-per-mount Guild dues. When he got married, he signed up for the family health plan, paying another $7 per ride