Recognizing the Industry's Unsung Heroes

The unsung heroes of the industry will be put in the spotlight at the second running of the Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards presented by Godolphin Oct. 13. The nominations close Aug. 1.

The awards recognize and reward the outstanding talent, diligence and commitment of the farm and racing stable staff who are at the heart of the thoroughbred industry in the United States.

Having started in Great Britain 10 years ago, the program has now found its way into five countries. It was established in the USA last year, and at the inaugural awards ceremony in October 2016, awards were distributed in five categories: Leadership (racing), Leadership (breeding), Dedication to Racing, Dedication to Breeding, and a Thoroughbred Industry Community Award. For the second running, a sixth category has been added.

Jimmy Bell, President of Godolphin in America, said: “Godolphin, along with its partners, the Jockey Club, TOBA and the National HBPA have added a new category this year called the 'Newcomer' award. This basically identifies employees who have less than five years' experience in the industry but show dramatic potential to their areas of expertise.”

The total prize-pool this year for the six categories is $128,000, with prizes being awarded to the winners as well as the runners-up and their farms or racing stables for five of the categories, and the winner and a charity of their choice for the community award.

In its initial year, 114 employees were nominated, and the awards ceremony at Keeneland was a great event to honor some of the hard-working people in the industry.

One of last year's five winners was Melissa Cohen, assistant trainer for Richard Violette. She was the recipient of the Leadership Award (Racing), recognizing an individual in a managerial or supervisory role in a Thoroughbred racing stable who displays exceptional leadership qualities, in particular, in terms of motivating, mentoring and support of colleagues in the workplace.

“It was amazing, very special and a huge honor to be recognized and I look forward to more people being recognized for it. It's a great idea,” Cohen said.

She has worked in the industry for 22 years and couldn't imagine herself in a job without horses.

“The horses are the best part of the job,” Cohen said. “They keep me happy. I love seeing them progress and learn, particularly the two-year-olds. I also get to travel, and to meet a lot of people. And we have great help in the barn, which makes life easier. The long hours and the lack of time off takes a toll on you, but beside that, everything else is great. I couldn't imagine working in an office somewhere.”

The Thoroughbred Industry Community Award recognizes an individual who has shown outstanding contribution to the Thoroughbred industry, such as a person who supports the farm and racing staff or who have made a contribution to benefit the wider Thoroughbred community.

Last year's award winner was Israel “Izzy” Vega, who was acknowledged for his service to the Thoroughbred industry as a racing chaplain.

“It was a great honor and a total surprise,” Vega said. “I know there are a lot of qualified chaplains and other people who are doing good things at the racetracks, so to win the community service award was just a tremendous honor. I have been doing it for many years and you do it from your heart and for the benefit of the employees.”

He continued: “Racing chaplains exist to try to improve the quality of life of the employees at the racetracks. This includes everyone who works in the barn area: the grooms, hot walkers, exercise riders, trainers, assistants, night watchmen, but we also reach out to the front side: such as the jockeys, the security guards, and the carpenters. We have weekly chapel services, but we also try to meet the emotional, psychological and material needs of the employees.”

Having worked with industry employees at the tracks for nearly five decades, Vega sees the importance of the Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards.

“There are a lot of unsung heroes in the racing industry,” he said. “The employees are some of the hardest working people I know. They are up at the crack of dawn and they work through the days. To reward people and recognize them for their hard work, that is superb.”

The other three winners last year were Victor Espinoza at Brookdale Farm, who won the Leadership Award (Breeding) because of the dedication he has shown to the farm but also for acting as an instructor and mentor to the crew. James Sebastian, who has worked with the mares and foals at Claiborne Farm for more than 50 years and is estimated to have delivered around 10,000 foals, was awarded the Dedication to Breeding award. The Dedication to Racing award went to Jose “Vinny” Castenada, who works as a groom at Mary Jones Racing Stable, and has worked for the Jones family since the 1960s.

“I am not sure which was more dramatic about the awards, the acceptance speeches from the individual winners, or the palpable impact those words had on the audience,” Bell recalled when asked about last year's award ceremony. “To say the least, it was very heart-warming and underscored how very important these unsung heroes are to our industry.”

Nominations for the Awards can be made by, but are not limited to, trainers, owners, breeders, stable staff, farm staff, office personnel and office administrators. Nominations close at 5pm on August 1. For more information or to make a nomination, visit https://godolphinusawards.com/.