You Can Lose Your Shirt At The Track - Or Just Help A Worthwhile Charity

This afternoon, 20 horses will be racing in the 135th Kentucky Derby. Fans will be cheering - and often betting - for horses such as General Quarters, Chocolate Candy and I Want Revenge to win the race and go on to the Preakness in the quest to become a Triple Crown Winner.

Perhaps this race may prompt you to want to learn more about charities that care for horses and celebrate horse racing. Below are a few highly rated such groups.

• Days End Farm Horse Rescue: Ensuring quality care and treatment of horses through intervention, education, and outreach
• American Quarter Horse Foundation: Supporting the American Quarter Horse Association
• Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation: Advancing research to enhance the health and soundness of horses of all breeds
• Front Range Equine Rescue: Stopping the abuse and neglect of horses
• The Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame: Dedicated to the support and promotion of the Standardbred industry
• Kentucky Horse Park Foundation: Building a strong foundation for the Kentucky Horse Park
  

It is also interesting to note that as the official national charity of the Kentucky Oaks, the well-known breast cancer charity, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, benefited from the festivities surrounding the Kentucky Derby. Including Komen as a partner, a powerhouse in the field of cause-related marketing, was part of an effort to attract a greater interest among women in the Tripple Crown