Monday September 21st 2009
Princess Royal, Patron, of the Injured Jockeys Fund, opened Oaksey House on Monday September 21st 2009 and was received by Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of the Royal County of Berkshire the Hon. Mrs Bayliss.
The Princess Royal spent more than two hours touring the Injured Jockey’s Fund’s residential and rehabilitation centre for jockeys past and present and for the local racing workforce. She unveiled a statue of Lord Oaksey, who established the LJF in 1964, she said “Oaksey House sets an example that very few other sports have been able to achieve. It is a step forward in every respect, and people are going to learn from this for all other sports,”
Those present for the ceremony included Jack Berry, Dick Francis, Jack Dowdeswell, Clare Balding, Nicky Henderson and Ian Balding.
Brough Scott, the IJF Chairman, paid tribute to John Oaksey. He said: “What John has taught us is that while winning, obsessing about winning, is the very essence of racing and indeed of much of life, there is honour and satisfaction in thinking about the losers too. The LJF was, and is, dedicated to those in need.
