The BCSA/BCSBS has announced that horseman Rick Zeron will be joining pilot Mark MacDonald and many BC drivers in support of Cole Rutter on BC Breeders Classic Day.
BC Breeders Classic Day, which will be offering estimated purses of $400,000, will take place on Remembrance Day, Tuesday, November 11.
Cole Rutter is the 12-year-old son of trainer Carol St Amand. Rutter was seriously injured in an ATV accident two months ago. He is in the Intensive Care Unit of the Children's Hospital in Vancouver where he lay paralyzed as a result of the September 7 accident.
Family spokesperson Wes Waardenberg said Cole's progress is slow and the full extent of his injury may not be known for some months.
"He has some movement in his right side, feelings in his right toes and fingers but his left side is paralyzed," Waardenberg said. "He keeps on doing better than what the doctors have anticipate and we are all just hoping that each day brings further improvement."
BC Horseman participated in a successful fundraiser in Chilliwack last weekend with a dance and auctions raising close to $40,000 for Rutter and his family.
Along with many of the Fraser Downs regular drivers, Zeron and MacDonald will be donating their winning drive percentages to the assist the fund raising initiative.
Last year, the BC drivers and fellow horsemen raised more than $20,000 for BC tot Emma Sheepwash who was fighting her battle with cancer.
Following months of chemotherapy, doctors decided they could remove the cancerous tumor from Sheepwash. Last week, Sheepwash's parents reported that she is now believed to be cancer free.
(With files from the BCSA/BCSBS)