Durkin, Others Receive Honors at Symposium
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In the weeks before he retired, New York Racing Association race announcer Tom Durkin said the outpouring of goodwill helped him realize the depth of racing's biggest fans.
"I was unprepared for that reaction," Durkin said, noting that the emotional depth of the fans showed him the solid bedrock of horse racing fans.
Durkin accepted the Big Sport of Turfdom Award Tuesday, Dec. 9, at a lunch during the Global Symposium on Racing & Gaming sponsored by the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program in Tucson, Ariz. The Big Sport of Turfdom is presented by the Turf Publicists of America to a person or group of people who enhance coverage of Thoroughbred racing through cooperation with media and racing publicists.
The Big Sport of Turfdom Award was one of several presented during Tuesday's lunch at the global symposium.
Awards presented by RTIP included the Clay Puett Award for service to racing, which went to Kentucky Horse Racing Commission equine medical director Mary Scollay.
The RTIP John K. Goodman Alumni Award went to Tom Ventura, president of Ocala Breeders' Sales Co.
The RTIP distinguished student award for a graduate in Dec. 2014 or May 2015 went to Randy Olson, who interned this year at the Thoroughbred Owners of California.
The Racing Officials Accreditation Program announced five winners of the Pete Pedersen Award, presented to stewards who have made important contributions to Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing.
Honored were the late Marshall Cassidy and James Keene Daingerfield Jr. Cassidy helped develop the moveable starting gate and photo-finish camera; Dangerfield, an Eclipse Award of Merit winner, served as a steward in Kentucky from 1950-1980.
Current stewards honored with the award were H. Eddie Arroyo, Dr. Ted Hill, and Darrel McHargue. A former jockey and track executive, Arroyo serves as chief steward the Chicago area tracks. Hill, a former practicing veterinarian and NYRA track veterinarian, has served as the Jockey Club steward at NYRA tracks since 1996. McHargue, a retired Eclipse Award-winning rider, has been a California state steward since 1994.