The Big Sport of Turfdom Award has been given annually by the Turf Publicists of America since 1966 to a person or group who enhances coverage of Thoroughbred racing through cooperation with the media and Thoroughbred racing publicists. [1]
The Turf Publicists of America, founded in 1951, is made up of approximately 180 Thoroughbred racing publicists and marketing executives at various racetracks throughout North America with the shared goal of promoting the sport of Thoroughbred racing.
Two-time recipients of the Big Sport of Turfdom Award include Penny Chenery (1973 and 2017), Laffit Pincay Jr. (1985 and 2000), Bob Baffert (1997 and 2015, the latter as part of Team American Pharoah), Mike Smith (2014 and 2015, the former as part of Team Zenyatta), and Ken McPeek (2002 and 2024).
Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races including both the Santa Anita Derby and the Santa Anita Handicap as well as hosting the Breeders' Cup in 1986, 1993, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2019, and 2023. In 1984, Santa Anita was the site of equestrian events at the 1984 Olympics. Since 2011, the Stronach Group are the current owners.
The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually in late October or early November at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The current purse is US$2,000,000 making it the most valuable race for two-year-olds in North America. It is normally run at a distance of 1+1⁄16 miles.
Michael Earl Smith is an American jockey who has been one of the leading riders in U.S. Thoroughbred racing since the early 1990s, was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2003 and has won the most Breeders' Cup races of any jockey with 27 victories. Smith is also the third leading jockey of all time in earnings with over $336 million. In 2018, Smith rode Justify to the Triple Crown, becoming the oldest jockey to win the title at age 52.
Robert A. Baffert is an American racehorse trainer who is considered one of the most successful and influential trainers in the history of horse racing. He has trained two Triple Crown winners: American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018. Baffert's horses have won the Kentucky Derby six times, tying the record with Ben A. Jones for wins by a trainer. He holds the trainer record for Preakness Stakes with eight wins and has won the Belmont Stakes and Kentucky Oaks three times each.
The Super Derby is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually in September at Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, Louisiana.
The Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Run at 1+1⁄16 miles on the dirt, the race is for horses aged three and upward and carries a purse of $200,000.
The Santa Ysabel Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race once run during January but now run in March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The race is open to fillies, age three, willing to race one and one-sixteenths miles on the dirt. The race is a Grade III event with a current purse of $100,000 and is part of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks.
Laffit Alejandro Pincay Jr. is a retired Panamanian jockey who is known for once holding the all-time record for wins in horse racing, while still holding third place many years after his retirement. He competed primarily in the United States.
Carl A. Nafzger is an American Hall of Fame horse trainer. Before he was involved in horse racing, he was a champion rodeo bull rider.
Helen Bates "Penny" Chenery was an American sportswoman who bred and owned Secretariat, the 1973 winner of the Triple Crown. The youngest of three children, she graduated from The Madeira School in 1939 and earned a Bachelor of Arts from Smith College, then studied at the Columbia Business School, where she met her future husband, John Tweedy, Sr., a Columbia Law School graduate. In March 2011, Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, awarded Chenery an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
Christopher Chenery was an American engineer, businessman, and the owner/breeder of record for Thoroughbred horse racing's U.S. Triple Crown champion Secretariat.
Mike Venezia Memorial Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor given annually by the New York Racing Association to honor a jockey who exemplifies extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship. The award was created in 1989 to honor the memory of jockey Mike Venezia, who was killed in a racing accident in October, 1988 at Belmont Park.
The Eclipse Special Award is part of the Eclipse Award program in United States Thoroughbred horse racing. The Special Award's purpose is to honor outstanding individual achievements in, or contributions to, the sport. It is not awarded every year.
The Laffit Pincay Jr. Award is an honor given annually since 2004 by Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California to someone who has served the horse racing industry with integrity, dedication, determination and distinction. Named for retired U.S. Racing Hall of Fame jockey Laffit Pincay, Jr., the award, designed by American sculptor Nina Kaiser, is presented on Hollywood Gold Cup Day, a racecard that features the premier race Pincay won a record nine times.
Dale L. Romans is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer, best known for winning the 2011 Preakness Stakes with Shackleford and the Breeders' Cup Turf with Little Mike. He also upset American Pharoah in the 2015 Travers Stakes with Keen Ice. He won the 2012 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer.
The Selima Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland. Raced in late November, it is open to two-year-old fillies and is raced on turf.
Chinook Pass was an American Champion thoroughbred racehorse. He was noted for his performances over sprint distances and was voted American Champion Sprint Horse in 1983.
Thomas M. "Tom" Amoss is a trainer of Thoroughbred race horses.
American Pharoah is a Thoroughbred racehorse who won the American Triple Crown and the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2015. He was the 12th Triple Crown winner in history, and in winning all four races, became the first horse to win the modern Grand Slam of Thoroughbred racing. He won the 2015 Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year and 2015 Champion three-year-old. In 2021 he was inducted into the American Racing Hall of Fame. He was bred and owned throughout his racing career by Ahmed Zayat of Zayat Stables, trained by Bob Baffert, and ridden in most of his races by Victor Espinoza.
Warren R. Stute was an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer who conditioned racehorses for almost 70 years from a base in California. Clement L. Hirsch, co-founder and owner of Oak Tree Racing Association was among his prominent clients and someone whose horses he trained for more than forty years. He also trained for prominent show-biz people such as Walter Matthau as well as Betty Grable and her husband, bandleader Harry James.