Fans Can Vote for Venezia Award Recipient
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Beginning April 29, racing fans can vote for which of four outstanding jockeys will be the recipient of the 21st Mike Venezia Memorial Award.
The nominees are Javier Castellano, Joe Bravo, Aaron Gryder, Cornelio Velasquez, and Mario Pino.
Castellano led the nation in earnings last year with a record $28.1 million. Among his victories was a record fifth Travers Stakes (gr. I), in which he piloted Keen Ice to an upset of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah . He also won his third straight Eclipse Award as Outstanding Jockey.
Bravo had the best year of his career in 2015 with more than $8.39 million in purses earned and three grade I wins in New York: the Personal Ensign with Sheer Drama, the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic with Big Blue Kitten, and the Champagne with Greenpointcrusader.
Gryder, 45, has won dozens of stakes races throughout his career, including a victory aboard Well Armed in the 2009 Dubai World Cup (UAE-I). He is the co-founder of The Giving Circle, based in Saratoga Springs, which connects donors with communities in need.
Velasquez is perennially among NYRA's top jockeys. This year, he has won the Carter Handicap (gr. I) and the Tom Fool (gr. III) with Salutos Amigos. The Panama native has won $164 million with over 3,700 winners since he came to the United States in the late 1980s.
Pino is currently third among active jockeys and 10th overall in career victories, having ridden 6,707 winners of more than $124 million. Only all-time leader Russell Baze and Edgar Prado, eighth overall, have more victories than Pino.
Voting will be open here until midnight on May 16, and the winner will be announced the following day.
Created in 1989, the Mike Venezia Memorial Award is given to jockeys who display the extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship that defined Venezia, who died as the result of injuries he suffered in a spill in 1988. Venezia won more than 2,300 races during his 25-year career.
The first Venezia Award was awarded posthumously to its namesake in 1989. Previous winners of the award include Jon Court in 2015, Hall of Famer John Velazquez in 2014, and newly minted Hall of Famer Ramon Dominguez in 2013.
The 2016 winner will be presented with the award by The New York Racing Association, in a special ceremony at Belmont Park on May 30.