THOROUGHBRED CHARITIES OF AMERICA ANNOUNCES MAY AWARD OF MERIT WINNERS
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Thoroughbred Charities of America has announced the recipients of its Award of Merit honored at breeders associations’ awards ceremonies in May.
Launched in January, in celebration of its 25th anniversary, nearly 20 recipients will be honored throughout the year. Recipients are nominated by the leadership of various state Thoroughbred owners and breeders associations.
Anne Tucker was honored at the Virginia Thoroughbred Association’s Awards Banquet on May 1 and Midwest Thoroughbreds was named the Award of Merit recipient at the Illinois Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Foundation’s Awards Banquet on May 9. The Retired Racehorse Project and Turning for Home will be honored by the Maryland Horse Breeders Association on May 28 and Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association on May 30, respectively.
Tucker is the immediate past president of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation’s Second Chances program at James River Correctional Facility. The program offers inmates vocational skills training through the care of 22 off-track-Thoroughbreds. Tucker is also involved with various community initiatives that work to raise awareness about the Second Chances program. She appears at many equine-related events throughout Virginia to promote the off-the-track Thoroughbred.
Richard and Karen Papiese’s Midwest Thoroughbreds is a supporter of numerous charitable organizations that provide rehabilitation, retraining and rehoming services to Thoroughbreds at the conclusion of their racing careers. They provide care for many of their retired racers, mares and yearlings at their Thunder Ranch in Florida. The top racing stable is also a supporter of many racetrack chaplaincy organizations.
The Retired Racehorse Project (RRP), headed by Steuart Pittman, works to facilitate the placement of Thoroughbred ex-racehorses in second careers by increasing demand for them as pleasure and sporthorses in the marketplace. RRP offers online directories, educational resources, clinics, videos and public events including the popular Thoroughbred Makeover contests.
Established in 2008 by the Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association of Parx Racing, Turning for Home, Inc. has provided over 1,000 racehorses with a safe retirement. Conveniently located directly on the grounds of Parx Racing, horses enrolled with Turning for Home receive a veterinary evaluation and any necessary treatment before being placed with one of several partner farms for rehabilitation, retraining and rehoming.
Award of Merit nominees consist of individuals or organizations working to provide a better life for Thoroughbreds or the people who work with them, either on the backstretch or on the farm. Both achievements are reflective of TCA’s all encompassing mission to help Thoroughbreds and the people who care for them.
Other recipients honored earlier this year include Kip Elser, Elizabeth MacDonald, Russ Rhone, Bowman Second Chance Thoroughbred Adoption, Emerald Downs’ the Prodigious Fund, Amy Tarrant, Akindale Thoroughbred Rescue, Dennis Miller and Hope After Racing (H.A.R.T.).
Subsequent award winners will be announced monthly.
TCA was formed in 1990 to raise and distribute funds for charities in the Thoroughbred industry which provide a better life for Thoroughbreds both during and after their racing careers by supporting retirement, rescue, research and by helping the people who work with them. Over the last 24 years TCA has distributed over $20 million in grants to more than 200 Thoroughbred-related organizations. TCA is the charitable arm of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA).