Ex-jockey offering look at the life

For the 19th straight year, former jockey Gene Bresnahan will be off to the races.

Bresnahan, now an accountant, will take a group to Suffolk Downs in East Boston on Aug. 16 in an attempt to raise money for charity.

In the past, as many as 200 people have attended his "Day at the Races" event, Bresnahan said, where $45-$50 will buy you pretty much everything you need - transportation to and from the track, admission to the track, lunch, a spot in a private box, personal betting booths, a race program and more.

The 68-year-old Hazelwood Drive resident will even take guests on a tour of the jockey room.

The net proceeds of the event this year will go to benefit the Don MacBeth Memorial Jockey Fund - a charity that helps injured and disabled riders.

At least one jockey is killed each year, Bresnahan said, but what is worse, more than that suffer crippling injuries.

Jockeys, because of danger of their sport, are uninsurable, said Bresnahan. He explained insuring 100-pound men riding 1,000-pound horses traveling 40 mph is too much of a risk for companies. Riders only get paid if the horse finishes the race, he added, so when a jockey is hurt and can't ride, the jockey has source of income.

Over his 11-plus-year career in horse racing, Bresnahan said he has had his fair share of spills that have caused many broken bones and head trauma, and he has had over 200 stitches.

"A lot of people don't consider jockeys athletes," he said, "but they are athletes."

Bresnahan said he has raced on nearly every track east of California, but he suffered most of his injuries breaking yearling horses in Kentucky, Ohio and South Carolina before even starting to race.

His worst spill came as he was warming up a horse - a technique referred to as galloping - for a race. While in mid-ride Bresnahan could feel the saddle slipping out from beneath him, but he did not want to adjust it lest he anger the trainer. By the time he realized he could fall, it was too late. Bresnahan was knocked unconscious when he spilled off the horse.

The accident was particularly bad because he knew he was going to fall for half a mile. In most instances, accidents occur almost before the rider is aware of what is happening, he said.

Conversely, Bresnahan also talks about what he calls his "funniest spill."

His mount tripped just at the wire in a race at Suffolk Downs. His future wife was taking photos at the half-mile mark and they saw each other for the first time while he was being loaded into an ambulance.

"I've suffered a lot of broken bones, broken fingers, but now I do taxes," he said.

He retired from the sport at his wife's request in 1971 after a race in Waterford Park, Ohio. She was concerned about his safety.

Bresnahan had experience as an accountant and he routinely did the taxes of jockeys on the circuit, so he decided to make that his new career.

He specializes in multi-state filings since he has experience in doing taxes for jockeys routinely moving around the country.

Bresnahan still stays in contact with jockeys - especially those at Suffolk Downs - but he is no longer involved in racing.

He did admit that sometimes he feels jealous of the jockeys who stayed in the sport longer. But he said many older riders say they are jealous of the safe life he leads.

"I've had my life in riding. Now I do this," Bresnahan said. "I haven't fallen off my chair in 10 years."

Bresnahan used to bill himself as a typical accountant until Norwood Selectman Gerry Kelleher suggested he take advantage of his earlier career as a jockey to jazz up his accountancy.

Now, his company is called Taxjockey.com and the walls of his Dedham office are strewn with memorabilia from his horse racing days. He gleefully points to signed photos of jockeys he knows - legends such as Jeff Bailey and Pat Day - horse statues people have given him and race paintings.

Although Bresnahan is distraught over over the attacks on animal rights groups have been leveling at the sport of kings, he still fondly remembers the old days.

All he has to do is glance at the photos on his office walls to relive the moment he won back-to-back races in Scarborough, Maine, on a day so foggy spectators had trouble following the races.

"It's the sport of kings," he said, "I hope it never ends."