Industry Employee Awards Finalists Announced
Description:
Finalists for the inaugural Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards presented by Godolphin were announced Sept. 2.
The Awards recognize and reward the outstanding skills, commitment, and contribution of Thoroughbred industry employees. The shortlist judging panel had the difficult task of selecting just three finalists for each category from more than 110 nominations.
The second and final stage of judging will take place during the week of Oct. 3 with a separate judging panel deciding the winners in each category. The winner of the Thoroughbred Industry Community Award has already been decided as only one prize is awarded in that category.
The TIEA ceremony will be Oct. 7 on the opening day of Keeneland’s fall meet. Thirteen individuals will be recognized in five different categories: Leadership Award Farm, Leadership Award Racing, Dedication to Breeding Award, Dedication to Racing Award, and a Thoroughbred Industry Community Award.
The finalists are:
Leadership Award/Farm
Victor Espinoza/Brookdale Farm
John Hall/Taylor Made
Matt Koch/Shawhan Place
Leadership Award/Racing Stable
Jimmy Barnes/Bob Baffert
Melissa Cohen/Richard Violette
Laz Guerra/Mike Maker
Dedication to Breeding Award/Farm
Everett Charles/Stone Farm
Leon Hamilton/Ashview Farm
James Sebastian/Claiborne Farm
Dedication to Racing Award/Stable
Jose "Vinny" Castenada/Marty Jones Racing Stable
Danny Ramsey/Kenny McPeek Racing
Raul Rodriguez/Art Sherman Racing
Thoroughbred Industry
Community Award winner/Entity
Israel "Izzy" Vega/Racetrack Chaplaincy of California
“We couldn’t have been more pleased with the response by the industry in this the first year of the Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards here in the United States,” said Reid McLellan, chairman of the judging panels. “It wasn’t the easiest process to determine the finalists as each category was very well represented. But with Godolphin’s and Sheikh Mohammed’s generosity, we are now able to recognize and reward these individuals who truly make up the backbone of the Thoroughbred industry.
“On behalf of my fellow judges, I want to congratulate the finalists and look forward to meeting all of them in person during the final judging process. Having gone through this judging process, I am impressed by the individuals that we have taking care of our equine athletes. It’s an honor to be involved with such a wonderful program like this and I look forward to this year’s event and many more to come in the future.”
In addition to a commemorative trophy for the winners, three individual awards in each category will be distributed. The winner in each category will receive $10,000, while the other two finalists will receive $2,500 each. The winner of the Industry Community Award will receive $10,000 and an additional $5,000 will be given to the charity of their choice.