Thistledown's memorial for fallen jockey Mike Rowland will be Monday at 11 a.m. in the track's sixth-floor clubhouse.
Rowland, 41, died early Monday morning in a Cincinnati hospital from injuries suffered in a three-horse spill at Turfway Park in northern Kentucky on Feb. 4.
The service at Thistledown will include tributes from his family and friends, music and a video presentation. The public is invited.
Thistledown, which has established the Michael Rowland Fund at National City Bank and made an opening donation of $10,000, announced Wednesday it is renaming the May 8 Quick Step Handicap the $40,000 Michael Rowland Memorial Handicap. The track will also plant a tree and display a memorial plaque in its outdoor paddock in remembrance of Rowland.
Meanwhile, Mountaineer Park in West Virginia will hold a Valentine's Day tribute to Rowland on Saturday night. Organized by trainer Gary Johnson and jockey Maureen Andrews, a sale of roses, chocolates and baked goods will be held in the grandstand. Tickets will be raffled off for Cleveland Cavaliers games.
Johnson said he hopes to raise $5,000 and said the total will be matched by the West Virginia division of the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association.
Rowland was remembered Wednesday at Turfway with a 45-minute service. Randi Rowland, his oldest daughter, spoke of her father.
"He loved his family, he loved his friends, and he loved the horses," she said. "When I think of the racetrack, I think of him and I always will. We all have our memories of him, and that is what we have to always remember."
http://www.cleveland.com
Rowland, 41, died early Monday morning in a Cincinnati hospital from injuries suffered in a three-horse spill at Turfway Park in northern Kentucky on Feb. 4.
The service at Thistledown will include tributes from his family and friends, music and a video presentation. The public is invited.
Thistledown, which has established the Michael Rowland Fund at National City Bank and made an opening donation of $10,000, announced Wednesday it is renaming the May 8 Quick Step Handicap the $40,000 Michael Rowland Memorial Handicap. The track will also plant a tree and display a memorial plaque in its outdoor paddock in remembrance of Rowland.
Meanwhile, Mountaineer Park in West Virginia will hold a Valentine's Day tribute to Rowland on Saturday night. Organized by trainer Gary Johnson and jockey Maureen Andrews, a sale of roses, chocolates and baked goods will be held in the grandstand. Tickets will be raffled off for Cleveland Cavaliers games.
Johnson said he hopes to raise $5,000 and said the total will be matched by the West Virginia division of the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association.
Rowland was remembered Wednesday at Turfway with a 45-minute service. Randi Rowland, his oldest daughter, spoke of her father.
"He loved his family, he loved his friends, and he loved the horses," she said. "When I think of the racetrack, I think of him and I always will. We all have our memories of him, and that is what we have to always remember."
http://www.cleveland.com
