Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith to donate 1 percent of purses

Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith is pledging to donate 1 percent of his purse earnings from Travers Day at Saratoga this weekend to the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation.

The 52-year-old rider based in Southern California will travel East to ride in four stakes on Saturday at the upstate New York track.

Smith's mounts include West Coast in the $1.25 million Travers and Songbird in the $700,000 Personal Ensign Stakes. He's set to ride in two other stakes.

The foundation funds research into equine health issues.

Smith says horses give the racing industry so much and donating some of his earnings is his way of giving back.

Since 1983, the foundation has distributed more than $24.8 million in private funding for 346 research projects at 43 universities in North America and overseas, according to the organization.