By Adam Kramer
Enthusiasts of the ponies say there is no such thing as a sure thing, but putting money down on the 13th annual Richard Mark Smith Fund’s “Day at the Races” is guaranteed to bring many returns.
The June 2 event at Belmont Park raises money to help patients receiving chemotherapy and blood transfusions at Long Island Jewish Medical Center to overcome boredom, loneliness and the anxiety of extended treatment. It was started by the Smith family to keep their son’s memory alive.
“It is a chance to remember our brother,” said Laura Rosenberg, one of Smith’s three sisters. “Going to the races is something that he enjoyed doing. The day is a benefit for the hospital and all of the money raised is used to help give patients a better quality of life.”
Richard Mark Smith died in 1990 at age 36 from AIDS, which he contracted from a tainted blood transfusion he received while undergoing two colon resections to fight Crohn’s disease, an extremely painful inflammatory ailment that affects the colon.
Alvin Smith, Mark’s father and a Whitestone resident, said his only son and youngest daughter both suffered from Crohn’s disease. He said his daughter, who had two resections, lives a normal healthy life.
As a result of his son’s death, he said, his daughter Laura came up with the idea of perpetuating Mark’s memory.
“Because we are both devotees of the races,” Alvin Smith said, “we decided to hold a day at the races. Whatever money we raise is for LIJ.”
During blood transfusions and chemotherapy, patients have to lie on their sides while they are poked and prodded and there is nothing to occupy their “mind except their terrible destiny,” he said. So in order to help the patients get through the procedures and “make their quality of life better,” they installed the televisions in the treatment room.
Over the years they have been able to purchase televisions, VCRs, a giant selection of tapes, magazine subscriptions and several portable telephones that the patients and their families can use, he said. The fund has put up a giant awning stretching from the entrance way of the Oncology Building to the sidewalk to cover the patients after they are dropped off during inclement weather.
The money raised at the event also has been used to create a bereavement group for people who have lost somebody close to them, he said.
Smith described his son, who grew up in Roslyn, L.I., as a great athlete. He said one of Richard’s greatest accomplishments was to make his high school basketball team as a freshman.
His son’s friends on the basketball team and many high school classmates come out to the event every year to share their memories.
The event — including a great day of racing — is open to anyone and costs $75 per person, which includes a luncheon in the garden terrace area at Belmont.
He said the fund-raiser attracts family members from as far as Florida and Boston, in addition to friends from Mark Smith’s college days at Ohio State University.
“The day is about getting people together who knew Mark,” Alvin Smith said. “We remember him in various ways. His memory constantly comes up in photos and events we do as a family.”
The event takes place at Belmont Park, Sunday, June 2, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Interested individuals should contact Laura Chase at 516-365-8812.
Reach reporter Adam Kramer by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 157.
