NEWS
Peers come out to support cancer-stricken jockey Cornwell
Posted: Friday, May 22, 2009 12:31 PM
MARION "JAMIE" CORNWELL
Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club
by John Scheinman
After winning the BlackBerry Preakness Stakes (G1) aboard Rachel Alexandra on May 16, jockey Calvin Borel concluded his on-track interview with NBC’s Donna Brothers by saying, “I love you, Mom and Dad, and thank you for the little boy that got cancer here. We’re going to try and help him, okay?”
Down in Bowman, South Carolina, jockey Marion “Jamie” Cornwell watched the broadcast in amazement.
The 33-year-old jockey, one of the most well-liked members of the Maryland racing community, is that “little boy” with cancer, having found out just three weeks before the big race at Pimlico Race Course that a tumor on his pancreas had spread throughout his body.
“I was thrilled,” Cornwell said of Borel’s recognition. “I was kind of shocked. I was in shock and in awe. I really appreciate it. I got to talk to him afterward on the telephone that evening after he left.”
Though not Maryland’s most decorated rider, Cornwell has made fans and friends because of his good nature and strong work ethic. Born in Aiken, South Carolina, and raised in Bowman, he learned the horse business working for Franklin Smith at Elloree Training Center.
In 2002, Cornwell moved north to gallop horses and work in the barns of Smith’s brother, trainer Hamilton Smith. He rode his first race two years later and compiled a career record of 12 wins, 18 seconds and 11 thirds in 259 starts with earnings of $149,094. He was known to work from sunrise to night, at the track and in a tack shop near Laurel Park in Central Maryland.
One of his best friends, rider Jonathan Joyce, won five races on the February 18 card at Laurel Park.
“I mean, everyone likes him,” Joyce said. “He’s a great guy, real nice to everybody. He’s kind of like the little brother of the group even though he was older.
“Everyone knew he wasn’t like the greatest, but he tried real hard. He was always in good spirits. He would crack jokes and everyone would crack jokes, and everyone had a good time.”
Cornwell began chemotherapy and radiation treatments at Medical University of South Carolina Hospital in Charleston on May 19. He is being cared for by his childhood next-door neighbors in Bowman, Ellen and Franklin Eastlin, who also cared for Cornwell’s mother when she died of the same cancer when he was in his teens.
Jockeys everywhere are rallying behind Cornwell, who said his insurance is not enough to cover the enormous hospital bills. On May 18, riders donated many of their mount fees to help pay his medical bills, according to Larry Saumell, a Jockey’s Guild representative.
Saumell said he is planning similar fundraisers at Delaware Park and Monmouth Park.
On May 24, Christy Wilson, daughter of former standout jockey Rick Wilson, organized a silent auction to benefit Cornwell. Among the items up for bid was a breeding right to classic winner Afleet Alex donated by jockey Jeremy Rose.
Jockeys such as Garrett Gomez and Borel also donated memorabilia.
“We’re trying to raise as much as we possibly can,” said Maggie Wolfendale, who helped Wilson put together the event. “He comes from rural South Carolina and doesn’t have so much funding. The doctor has only given him a year to live because the cancer keeps spreading.”
Lisa Jimenez, a track worker and trainer who Cornwell boarded with while living in Maryland, said to not count him out.
“One thing about that kid, he has such determination,” Jimenez said. “He was born with no cartilage in his thumbs, and one thumb, his left, doesn’t work. Imagine riding horses with no thumb? He’s been told he couldn’t ride, let alone be a jockey. He’s just steadfast and determined about everything he’s ever done.
“He’s familiar with the battle ahead of him.”
Cornwell watched the Preakness telecast and said he recognized “a lot of the horses, local horses, and I’ve been on some of them before for gallops and breezes. I’d love to still be out there.”
John Scheinman is a Washington, D.C.-based THOROUGHBRED TIMES correspondent
