Oscar Mancilla and Richard Monterry at Johns Hopkins. Photo by Wendy Davis, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.
From a Maryland Jockey Club release
Veteran riders Oscar Mancilla and Richard Monterrey visited the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center Wednesday afternoon as part of the Jockeys Guild effort to bring awareness to pediatric cancer during the month of September.
Mancilla and Monterrey took part in the weekly BINGO television show with host Annie Woods Beatson and gave out racing goggles and Laurel Park caps to kids.
“It went very well,” Monterrey said. “We spoke through video and told the kids we had some gifts for them. I told them how we use the goggles and why we use them during the races. It was a neat experience. I am grateful for the opportunity. It is always nice to give back. It was an unbelievable experience for us, not only as jockeys but as human beings. To see how the other side and how Johns Hopkins helps make their lives better is something I will never forget. I was just happy to be able to put smiles on the faces. It was a joy.”
Founded in 1912 as the children’s hospital of Johns Hopkins, the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center offers one of the most comprehensive pediatric medical programs in the country, with more than 92,000 patient visits and nearly 9,000 admissions a year. As the birthplace of academic pediatrics in the United States more than a century ago, the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center has been at the forefront of biomedical research. It is consistently ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. It is Maryland’s largest children’s hospital and the only state-designated Trauma Service and Burn Unit for pediatric patients. It has recognized Centers of Excellence in dozens of pediatric subspecialties, including allergy, cardiology, cystic fibrosis, gastroenterology, nephrology, neurology, neurosurgery, oncology, pulmonary, and transplant. For more information, visit www.hopkinschildrens.org.
Thank you to both these gentlemen and their counterparts at Delaware Park who visited Nemours Children’s Hospital in Wilmington, I’m sure the children loved it even though it goes basically unnoticed in the Press. Most Jockeys have ten times the class of the politicians who manage to get their face in everything, showing up five minutes before and leaving immediately after the photo-op.
Thanks for checking in, Kurt. Long time ago, somebody told me that racing people take care of each other, which is true, and it’s nice to see them taking care of kids, too.