Flameaway qualified for the Kentucky Derby via a win in the Sam F. Davis Stakes and second-place finishes in the Blue Grass Stakes and Tampa Bay Derby. | Photo: Courtesy Churchill Downs

Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation announced that owner John Oxley has pledged to donate 1% of the Kentucky Derby’s winning purse to the foundation should his entrant, Flameaway, win this year’s race on Saturday, May 5.

Oxley made a similar pledge to Grayson after his Monarchos won the 2001 Kentucky Derby. The pledge extends to the other two Triple Crown races, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes, should Flameaway compete in either event.

“Mr. Oxley has been a bulwark of important financial support for the benefit of all horses through his repeated generosity to Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation,” said Edward L. Bowen, the foundation’s president. “In addition to donating 1% of Monarchos’ winning purse in the Derby, the Oxley Foundation established a $1 million challenge match over four years, which resulted in combined donations of more than $2 million for Grayson