Thoroughbred Industry Employee Award winners announced for 2018

The Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards, now in its third year, concluded this afternoon with Churchill Downs hosting the event in Louisville, Kentucky.

Jill Byrne, Senior Director of Industry Relations at the Breeders’ Cup, was once again the master of ceremonies, with Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert on hand to present the awards.

Jimmy Bell, President of Godolphin in America commented, “We were thrilled that Churchill Downs and the Breeders’ Cup welcomed us to be part of Championship Week this year and we sincerely thank them both for their support. We also want to express our gratitude to the nominators for providing such an outstanding group of worthy nominees and sincere thanks as well to the judges, our corporate partners and our media partners. As they say, ‘it takes a village’ and it’s very heartwarming to see how the entire industry has embraced these important awards now in their third year.”

Jim Gagliano, President of The Jockey Club, said, “There are very special people in our industry who spend countless hours of their lives taking care of our industry’s horses and humans. These awards enable us to honor them and share their wonderful stories. We are grateful to Godolphin for bringing these awards to the United States and for including The Jockey Club, TOBA, and the HBPA as their corporate partners in this important endeavor.”

The full list of winners and runners-up is as follows:

Leadership Award - Farm
Winner: Sandy Hatfield, Stallion Manager, Three Chimneys Farm
(Runners-up: Richard Barry, Stallion Manager, Ashford Stud and John Hall, Supervisor, Taylor Made Sales Agency)

Leadership Award – Racing
Winner: Cesar Aguilar, Foreman, John W. Sadler Racing
(Runners-up: Gene Corbin, Farm Trainer, Shade Tree Thoroughbreds and Daisy Tobin, Assistant Trainer, James W. Casey Racing)

Dedication to Breeding Award
Winner: Therese Reese, Stoneway Farm
(Runners-up: Noe Murillo-Hernandez, Assistant Manager, The Acorn Farm and Barbara Nicholls, Equine Manager, Stone Farm)

Dedication to Racing Award
Winner: Lisa See, Groom/Assistant, Pecoraro Racing Stable
(Runners-up: Jehobany Alvarez, Assistant Trainer, Peter Miller Racing Stable and Esteban Medina, Delta Downs Racetrack)

Newcomer Award
Winner: Devon Dougherty, Assistant Trainer, Roy Houghton Stable
(Runners-up: Zachary Richards, Corporate Partnership Account Executive, NYRA and Lindsay Scott, Farm Manager, Langsem Farm)

Thoroughbred Community Award winner
Angie Carmona, Deputy Executive Director and Secretary, California Thoroughbred Trainers

The Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards, with a total prize money of $128,000, was managed and administered by The Jockey Club, the Horsemen’s Protective and Benevolent Association, and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. Media partners are Thoroughbred Daily News, BloodHorse, Daily Racing Form, The Paulick Report and TVG.

Photo credit: Coady Photography

For more information, please contact:
Andy Schweigardt
Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association
andys@toba.org
888-606-TOBA
859-276-2291