LAUREL, MD. 11-22-13---Tim Keefe is one of the good guys in horse racing. For the second time, the trainer is competing in an Ironman Triathlon and teaming up with a pair of charities.

Keefe, his wife and four children will fly from Baltimore to Cancun on Thanksgiving morning for the holiday weekend. On Dec. 1, the 46-year-old will compete in the Ironman Cozumel, a full triathlon (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile marathon) and has teamed up with the Ulman Cancer Fund (https://ulmanfund.org/) and the Foxie G Foundation (https://www.thefoxiegfoundation.org/pages/home.html) in a fundraising effort.

Keefe’s goal is to raise $3,000-5,000 for each group. The tax deductible donations can be made by logging onto www.timkeeferacing.com.

“The Ulman Cancer Fund is a great local group which raises money for young adults afflicted with the disease. I don’t know a person that cancer hasn’t afflicted,” Keefe said. “Thoroughbred retirement is also very important to me. This is a way to raise awareness to folks trying to do great things that people don’t hear about.”

In September 2011, Keefe raised money for two different charities when he competed in the Revolution3 Triathlon in Ohio.

“Fundraising is important to me and I would like to continue, whether it is another triathlon or just a marathon,” added Keefe. “I like challenging myself physically and mentally and this is a way to accomplish both of those things.”

Keefe has been training horses for 20 years  and conditions 30 horses at Laurel Park. Not one of his nearly 3,000 starters has had a positive drug test. Celtic Innis was his first big-name runner. The son of Yarrow Brae won five stakes races and earned nearly $650,000 as a sprinter from 2004-2010. The current star of the barn is Eighttofasttocatch, who captured his third consecutive Jennings Handicap last weekend in front-running fashion. The son of Not For Love has nine stakes victories on his resume with earnings over $850,000. He could end his 7-year-old campaign in the Broad Brush Stakes here on Dec. 7.

“I am not positive,” Keefe said. “I like to space races out for him and be patient, which has kept him around in the condition he is. I want to make sure he is good to go for next year but he came out of the race fine. If I were a trainer competing against him, you are damned if you do or damned if you don’t. If you don’t go with him, he is going to go 48 (seconds) in half-mile and have plenty left in the tank. If you go with him and make him go a little quicker, he is still going to be able to finish and you are going to be cooked. This is probably the best he has ever been and I am very fortunate to have him.”

Finding the time to train for the Ironman Cozumel around his job and role as a husband and father is a balancing act that Keefe enjoys.

“I chose this particular venue because it fit the best timeline. With the kids, summer time is always hard to get away and prepare for a race like this,” added Keefe. “I try to schedule my training around the races. On Sunday, I try to take off from the barn, get up early and do my long run. We are dark Tuesday, so I go down to Cambridge (on Maryland’s Eastern Shore) for a 100-mile bike ride. It is flat and simulates the course in Cozumel.”

Keefe finished his first triathlon in 11 hours 42 minutes.

“I would like to have a better time, maybe close to 11 hours but I don’t know how the temperature is going to affect me,” Keefe said. “I don’t do great in the heat but I feel really good. Two years ago I came into the race with a problem in my right leg and didn’t run well, so I am hopeful to beat my time.”

Either way, the Ulman Cancer Fund and the Foxie G Foundation will be winners because Tim Keefe cares.

About Laurel Park

Laurel Park is a Stronach Group company, North America’s leading Thoroughbred racetrack owner/operator. The Stronach Group racetracks include Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park & Casino, Golden Gate Fields, Portland Meadows, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, home of the world-famous Preakness. The company owns and operates the Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida and is one of North America's top race horse breeders through its award-winning Adena Springs operation. The Stronach Group is one of the world's largest suppliers of pari-mutuel wagering systems, technologies and services. Its companies include AmTote, a global leader in wagering technology; Xpressbet, an Internet and telephone account wagering service; and Monarch Content Management, which acts as a simulcast purchase and sales agent of horseracing content for numerous North American racetracks and wagering outlets. The Stronach Group is also a major producer of televised horse racing programming through its HRTV cable and satellite network and is North America's premier supplier of virtual online horse racing games, as well as a leading producer of social media content for the horseracing industry.