The late Danny Bergan with his beloved pacer Nukemjake.
EVERY horse wearing the number seven saddlecloth at Penrith this Thursday night will be donning special silks of black with gold sleeves and white stars.
And the reason is to raise awareness of Motor Neurone Disease.
Popular horseman Danny Bergan lost his short battle with MND in 2007 and this week marks the seventh year of the Danny Bergan Memorial at the Paceway hence why seven is the ‘lucky’ number.
Ironically the last winner the late Danny Bergan trained, Nukemjake, won from barrier seven at Penrith.
Danny’s son Daniel and his best mate Stuart Jamieson, who also part-owned Nukemjake, have been behind this awareness campaign from the very beginning following one heartfelt promise.
“My best mate’s father passed away quickly from Motor Neurone Disease and he made a promise to his father that he would help find a cure for MND,” Stuart said.
“With Daniel’s banking background and my hospitality background we put our skills together and created the Danny Bergan Memorial Foundation.
“This is the seventh running of the Danny Bergan Memorial at Penrith so we thought we would do something different with the race silks, to draw attention, awareness and raise money.
“Danny had an affiliation with Penrith and raced a lot of his horses there hence why we have his race and race night at this track.”
Through this passionate drive of two best mates, Daniel and Stuart have teamed up with the MonSTar Foundation and contributed in excess of $380,000.
And with the Danny Bergan Memorial Trot Night function on Thursday, the pair is donating all of the proceeds towards the cause.
“We first started the fundraising to help support Carol, Danny’s wife, after his passing,” Stuart said.
“A couple of years later we held a race in Danny’s honour and it has grown momentum from there.”
Danny lived in the nearby suburb of Riverstone and trained and drove many winners at Penrith including the abovementioned Nukemjake and Gold Dignity.
For more information on the Danny Bergan Memorial Foundation click here.
Keep an eye out for the black colours with gold sleeves and white stars!
Harness Racing NSW (HRNSW) is the controlling body for harness racing in New South Wales with responsibility for commercial and regulatory management of the industry including 33 racing clubs across the State. HRNSW is headed by an industry-appointed Board of Directors and is independent of Government.
To arrange an interview or for further information please contact:
Amanda Rando
MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
p: (02) 9722 6600
e: arando@hrnsw.com.au
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