By Alan Carasso
Finalists for five of the six categories for the Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards (TIEA) have been announced, the winners for which will be recognized at the awards ceremony luncheon. Each category has been whittled down to three finalists after a total of 142 nominations were received. A second and final stage of judging will take place Oct. 12. The winner of a sixth category, the Thoroughbred Industry Community Award, is Leslie Janecka, coordinator of the Kentucky Equine Management Internship (KEMI) program.
The TIEA are sponsored by Godolphin in partnership with the National HBPA, TOBA and The Jockey Club. The TDN is proud to be a media partner.
“I would like to express our thanks to Godolphin and Sheikh Mohammed for bringing these important awards to the United States,” said Reid McLellan, Executive Director of the Groom Elite Program and chairman of judging panels for the second year. “It's an honor certainly for me to be involved and I think I can speak on behalf of my fellow judges as I know they would agree with my sentiments, as well.
McLellan added, “I initially thought that having a year under our belts might make this year's judging a bit easier in some respects but it certainly didn't play out that way. We had 25 more nominations than last year, so all the categories were well represented with experienced and talented individuals. And although we narrowed the finalists down to three in each category, I would like to express that so many others were recognized by someone they work for or work with which demonstrates specifically the goal of these Awards; to recognize people who haven't received recognition in the past for the good work they do. Just the fact that they've been nominated shows that they are, in fact, being recognized.”
The finalists in each of the five remaining categories are as follows:
Leadership Award – Farm
Clayton Murdock Rancho San Miguel
Larry McGinnis WinStar Farm
Aidan O'Meara Hill N Dale Farm
Leadership Award – Racing Stable
Richard Budge WinStar Farm
Christophe Lorieul Christophe Clement
Hilary Pridham Michael Stidham
Dedication to Breeding Award Farm
Francisco (Pancho) Sanchez Craig Wheeler Thoroughbreds
Ronda Clifton WinStar Farm
Lugusta “Gus” Gray FTBOA
Dedication to Racing Award Stable
Lena Lorieul Claude R. McGaughey III
Manuel Osoria-Perez Chris Stenslie
Raymond Davenport Timothy L. Keefe
Newcomer Award Farm
Emily Castrenze Arnaud Delacour
Kristina Taylor WinStar Farm
Jak Knelman Calumet Farm
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