Big Sport of Turfdom Award
Encyclopedia
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.
The Turf Publicists of America, founded in 1951, is made up of approximately 180 Thoroughbred racing publicist
s and marketing
executives at various racetracks throughout North America
with the shared goal of promoting the sport of Thoroughbred racing.
Award recipients:
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
and Thoroughbred racing publicists.
The Turf Publicists of America, founded in 1951, is made up of approximately 180 Thoroughbred racing publicist
Publicist
A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, a business, or for a work such as a book, film or album...
s and marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
executives at various racetracks throughout North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
with the shared goal of promoting the sport of Thoroughbred racing.
Award recipients:
- 2010 - Mike E. Smith
- 2009 - Team ZenyattaZenyattaZenyatta is a retired American champion Thoroughbred racehorse, winner of 19 consecutive races in a 20-race career and American record-holder for consecutive victories without defeat in unrestricted races....
: Ann & Jerry MossJerry MossJerome S. "Jerry" Moss is an American recording executive, best known for being the co-founder of A&M Records, along with trumpeter and bandleader Herb Alpert....
, John ShirreffsJohn ShirreffsJohn A. Shirreffs is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer.Based in California, Vietnam War veteran John Shirreffs began training Thoroughbreds in 1978. He has won a number of stakes races with his most important coming in the 2005 Kentucky Derby when Giacomo scored a major upset...
, Dottie Shirreffs, Mike E. Smith - 2008 - J. Larry JonesJ. Larry JonesJ. Larry Jones is an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer. A former commercial farmer, he embarked on a career as a professional trainer in 1982....
- 2007 - Carl NafzgerCarl NafzgerCarl A. Nafzger is an American Hall of Fame horse trainer. Before he was involved in horseracing he was a championship Rodeo bullrider....
- 2006 - Dr. Dean Richardson
- 2005 - Pat DayPat DayPatrick Alan "Pat" Day is an American jockey. He is a four-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1991...
- 2004 - John ServisJohn ServisJohn C. Servis is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer who was a relative unknown until May 2004 when his horse Smarty Jones won the Kentucky Derby. The colt then went on to win the Preakness Stakes further increasing Servis' reputation...
- 2003 - Sackatoga StableFunny CideFunny Cide is a Thoroughbred race horse who won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes in 2003. He is the first New York-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby and the first gelding to win since Clyde Van Dusen in 1929.-Bloodlines:...
- 2002 - Ken and Sue McPeek
- 2001 - Laura HillenbrandLaura HillenbrandLaura Hillenbrand is an American author of books and magazine articles.Born in Fairfax, Virginia, Hillenbrand spent much of her childhood riding bareback "screaming over the hills" of her father's Sharpsburg, Maryland, farm. A favorite of hers was Come On Seabiscuit, a 1963 kiddie book. "I read...
- 2000 - Laffit Pincay, Jr.Laffit Pincay, Jr.Laffit Alejandro Pincay, Jr. is a flat racing's all-time winningest jockey. He competed primarily in the United States.-Career:...
- 1999 - D. Wayne LukasD. Wayne LukasDarrell Wayne Lukas is a former educator who became one of the most successful horse trainers in American Thoroughbred horse racing history and a U.S...
- 1998 - Michael E. Pegram
- 1997 - Bob BaffertBob BaffertRobert A. "Bob" Baffert is an American horse owner and trainer, whose horses have won three Kentucky Derbies, five Preakness Stakes, one Belmont Stakes and two Kentucky Oaks. He graduated from the University of Arizona's with a Bachelor of Science degree. -Early career:Bob Baffert began his...
- 1996 - Team CigarCigar (horse)Cigar , is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse, who in 1995 and 1996 became the first American racehorse racing against top-class competition to win 16 consecutive races since the Triple Crown winner, Citation did so in 1948 and 1950...
: Allen E. PaulsonAllen E. PaulsonAllen Eugene Paulson was an American aviation entrepreneur, philanthropist, thoroughbred racehorse breeder and owner, and a self-made multi-millionaire.-Business career in aviation:Born in Clinton, Iowa, Allen E...
, William I. Mott, Jerry Bailey - 1995 - Robert and Beverly Lewis
- 1994 - Warren A. Croll, Jr.Warren A. Croll, Jr.Warren A. "Jimmy" Croll, Jr. was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred race horse trainer.Croll was born in 1920 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. After finishing high school, he attended the University of Pennsylvania with the intention of becoming a veterinarian but left to pursue his passion for...
- 1993 - Chris McCarronChris McCarronChristopher John "Chris" McCarron is a retired American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey. He is currently working as a racing analyst for TVG Network....
- 1992 - Angel Cordero, Jr.
- 1991 - HammerMC HammerStanley Kirk Burrell , better known by his stage name MC Hammer , is an American rapper, entertainer, business entrepreneur, dancer and actor. He had his greatest commercial success and popularity from the late 1980s until the mid-1990s...
and Oaktown Stable - 1990 - Carl NafzgerCarl NafzgerCarl A. Nafzger is an American Hall of Fame horse trainer. Before he was involved in horseracing he was a championship Rodeo bullrider....
- 1989 - Tim ConwayTim ConwayThomas Daniel "Tim" Conway is an American comedian and actor, primarily known for his roles in sitcoms, films and television. Conway is best known for his role as the inept second-in-command officer, Ensign Charles Parker, to Lt...
- 1988 - Julie KroneJulie KroneJulie Krone , is a retired American jockey. In 1993, she became the first female jockey to win a Triple Crown race when she captured the Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair...
- 1987 - Jack Van BergJack Van BergJohn Charles "Jack" Van Berg is an American Hall of Fame horse trainer. Born into a horse racing family, his father is Hall of Fame trainer, Marion Van Berg....
- 1986 - Jim McKayJim McKayJames Kenneth McManus , better known by his professional name of Jim McKay, was an American television sports journalist....
- 1985 - Laffit Pincay, Jr.Laffit Pincay, Jr.Laffit Alejandro Pincay, Jr. is a flat racing's all-time winningest jockey. He competed primarily in the United States.-Career:...
- 1984 - John HenryJohn Henry (horse)John Henry was an American Thoroughbred race horse who had 39 wins, with $6,591,860 in earnings. He was twice voted the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year in 1981 and 1984, with his 1981 selection is the only one whereby the victor received all votes cast for that award. John Henry was also...
- 1983 - Joe HirschJoe HirschJoe Hirsch was an American horse racing columnist and the founding president of the National Turf Writers Association.-Biography:...
- 1982 - Woody StephensWoody StephensWoody Stephens was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame trainer.Born Woodford Cefis Stephens in Stanton, Kentucky, his younger brother William Ward Stephens also became a successful trainer. Woody Stephens first started in racing as a jockey at age 16 but within a few years switched...
- 1981 - John ForsytheJohn ForsytheJohn Forsythe was an American stage, television and film actor. Forsythe starred in three television series, spanning four decades and three genres: as single playboy father Bentley Gregg in the sitcom Bachelor Father ; as the unseen millionaire Charles Townsend on the crime drama Charlie's...
- 1980 - Jack KlugmanJack KlugmanJacob Joachim "Jack" Klugman is an American stage, film and television actor known for his roles in sitcoms, movies, and television and on Broadway...
- 1979 - Laz BarreraLaz BarreraLazaro Sosa Barrera was a Cuban-born American Hall of Fame thoroughbred racehorse trainer.Born in Havana, "Laz" Barrera was one of nine brothers who went on to become involved in thoroughbred horse racing in the United States...
- 1978 - Ron TurcotteRon TurcotteRon Joseph Morel Turcotte, CM is a Hall of Fame thoroughbred race horse jockey best known as the rider of Secretariat, winner of the U.S. Triple Crown in 1973....
- 1977 - Steve CauthenSteve CauthenSteve Cauthen is a retired American jockey.Cauthen, the son of a trainer and a farrier, grew up in Walton, Kentucky around horses, which made race-riding a logical career choice. He rode his first race on May 12, 1976 at Churchill Downs; he finished last, riding King of Swat...
- 1976 - Telly SavalasTelly SavalasAristotelis "Telly" Savalas was an American film and television actor and singer, whose career spanned four decades. Best known for playing the title role in the 1970s crime drama Kojak, Savalas was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Birdman of Alcatraz...
- 1975 - Francis P. Dunne
- 1974 - Eddie ArcaroEddie ArcaroGeorge Edward Arcaro , known professionally as Eddie Arcaro, was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who won more American classic races than any other jockey in history and is the only rider to have won the U.S. Triple Crown twice...
- 1973 - Penny CheneryPenny CheneryHelen Bates "Penny" Chenery Tweedy is an American sportswoman who bred and raced Secretariat, the 1973 winner of the Triple Crown...
- 1972 - John W. Galbreath
- 1971 - Burt BacharachBurt BacharachBurt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
- 1970 - Saul Rosen
- 1969 - Bill Shoemaker
- 1968 - John A. NerudJohn A. NerudJohn A. Nerud is an American thoroughbred horse trainer and owner who was inducted in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1972.-Early years:...
- 1967 - Allaire du PontAllaire du PontAllaire du Pont was an American sportswoman and a member of the prominent French-American Du Pont family of chemical manufacturers who is most remembered as the owner of the Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame champion, Kelso....
- 1966 - E.P. Taylor